Immigration officials rescheduled yesterday's hearing for Chinese citizen Jianwei Wang for April 19 for unspecified reasons after the former Penn State graduate student triggered a post-Sept. 11 computerized safeguard last month.

Wang was arrested by Penn State University Police officers and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on March 8 and placed in Centre County Prison before being transported to an unknown ICE detainment facility on March 9.

Greg Gagne, spokesman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), said the hearing was scheduled shortly after Wang's case was entered into the agency's computer system this week for processing.

He added that this short time frame could have caused the delay for several reasons, including the need for Wang to obtain counsel or figure out how he would plead as the case progressed.

Gagne said he could not comment further about the delay because of the limited information provided to him by the ICE database.

Officials at the ICE litigation office in York said last month that all communication concerning ongoing cases are routed through the executive office.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said Wang failed to register for classes this semester, which triggered a computerized monitoring feature of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS).

All international students are required to register with the program that was implemented last year to better monitor foreigners in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Kendig said that ICE officials issuing arrest warrants for students on campus is a "rare occurrence."

But he added that such actions may become more common in the future.

"It is a different world in monitoring international students on campus in the days since Sept. 11," Kendig said.

Masume Assaf, the associate director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, confirmed that failing to register was one component of Wang's violation but said that there were other reasons for the ICE action as well, which she could not specify.

She added that several international students have been terminated from student status for not registering since the new monitoring system was put into place, but they are usually notified about their hearing dates by mail.

They are usually not incarcerated, she said.

EIOR spokeswoman Susan Eastwood said Tuesday that Wang's rescheduled court date is referred to as a "master calendar" hearing.

She added that the court appearance before an immigration judge is similar to a preliminary hearing in the criminal court system.

At this hearing, an individual's name, country of origin and his or her alleged violation or violations are determined. If the individual does not have a lawyer secured, a list of low-cost attorneys would be provided, and the hearing could be rescheduled until counsel is secured, Eastwood said.

"It is a five-to-10-minute process," Eastwood said. "It's really quick."