"Many factors, including the SARS scare and new visa regulations, contributed to this downturn," said John J. Romano, vice provost and dean of enrollment management and administration.

The survey also polled 250 institutions concerning graduate students and found that about half of the institutions reported a decline in applications from international students.

The Association of International Educators, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the Council of Graduate Schools and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges conducted the survey.

The problem seems to be the lengthy process required to obtain a visa. A General Accounting Office (GAO) report found the State Department had no data available on how long a visa application took to process.

Visas Mantis is a security check system that performs checks on international students who are applying to study about 200 different scientific subjects listed on the U.S. Technology Alert List. The list is comprised of areas of expertise that could pose a danger to national security.

The GAO report conducted a survey of its own and discovered a wait time of about 67 days for a Visas Mantis security check to be completed.

The entire visa application process is more difficult for students from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the United States, such as Iran. Students from these countries, including Hamid Ashrafi (graduate-agricultural sciences), who applied for a visa in Canada, must travel outside their country to apply for a visa.

"In August 2003, I came back to Canada to pick up my permanent residence card. I applied for a visa to get back to the United States; I was told it would take about three weeks. Instead, it took 100 days," he said.

The difficulty is that once a visa has been obtained, it is good only for entry into the United States. Every time the foreign citizen leaves the country, a new visa must be obtained to come back, Ashrafi said.

Some students experience difficulty reaching the United States in time because of uncertain time frames for security checks. "I was supposed to be here in 2002, but my clearance check took seven months and I missed two semesters in a row," Hossein Fazelinia (graduate-chemical engineering) said.

Administrators said students who must go to these lengths to gain access to American universities are a source of concern.

"It's harder to get a visa, and with increased expenses, it adds to the concern [about the drop in applications]," said Masume Assaf, associate director of the Office of International Students and Scholars.

Another newly updated part of the system is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (Sevis).

This is the tracking database that the Department of Homeland Security uses to store information on international students, such as arrival and departure dates and their student information.

Sevis now requires international students to pay an additional $100 fee to defray the operating cost of the database. This presents a problem because there is no effective way of demonstrating payment.

"Sevis has changed business in all international student offices," Assaf said.