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Wang was taken into custody by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) March 8 and detained in York County Prison.
Earlier reports indicate that Wang's trial was moved several times as he attempted to secure legal representation, but Wang's last available personal communication was a letter dated May 7 sent through his lawyer, Oliver H. Qiu of New York City-based Bretz & Coven, LLP.
Qiu said part of Wang's situation involved his status as a graduate student assistant, a position that qualifies as employment by the university. Wang had attempted to waive part of his tuition because of his work and research, but the university notified him that it was not receiving proper payment.
Wang has since voluntarily returned to China rather than face a deportation order that would bar him from re-entry for 10 years.
"During the process, he realized there was no way the university could reinstate his F-1 student status," Qiu said. "I think he was notified at the beginning of the fall semester, and there was nothing he could do at that point."
But Wang's inability to handle the process himself also damaged his case, Qiu said.
"He waited two months, naively thinking he could speak to the immigration judge and say he was a student and be re-instated," Qiu said. "By the time he contacted us, he had already made several statements, which hurt him."
Qiu said Wang's case was treated similar to terrorist threats after an exchange of information between the ICE and Penn State. The university has said that the ICE became involved after issues with Wang's student status triggered safeguards in the nation's automated tracking system.
At the time of Wang's arrest, Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the student's failure to register for classes last spring was caught by a recently implemented computerized security system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS).
Masume Assaf, associate director of the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), said there were also other reasons for Wang's arrest, but added that immigration rules prevented her from discussing those reasons both at the time of the arrest and during an interview last week.
In his letter, Wang said he was shown a fax in jail from Penn State's Office of International Scholars and Faculty Visa Services which indicated that his student status was terminated after he failed the Ph.D. candidacy exam and refused to leave.
According to the letter, Wang received approval from the OISS to adjust the master's degree program and registered for one credit in the spring. He said he did not feel the proper procedures had been followed in his termination.
International student adviser Gilbert Friedman said the OISS makes a "massive" effort to inform its students of potential academic risks that could cause termination, including lack of family funding, failing out of school or losing an assistantship. But Wang's case appears to concern "additional problems" beyond the scope of the OISS that prevented the office from providing any further assistance.
Qiu said the university sent Wang an e-mail notification, but he was unaware that his situation might become a federal issue.
"I don't think he was given the full picture. We're hoping the university can consider all the factors and re-instate his status," Qiu said. "I believe he's a man with a conscious mind, he's very reasonable. The university could have been more patient with him."
Disagreement between officials and legal representatives over the details of Wang's case and how they led to his legal trouble have augmented concerns within Penn State's international student community.
"It sort of makes you wary that you have to watch yourself," International Student Council President Raya Guruswamy (junior-geography) said. "It was kept very hush-hush. It makes you think, just cover all your bases. Seek help if you need help."
Qiu said Wang's case has received worldwide coverage, and its appearance can be worrisome to international scholars.
"If you're standing afar, you see that the university asked immigration officials to arrest a student, put him in jail for two months and then he left on voluntary departure," Qiu said.
From the perspectives of both students and administrators, the need for a quick transition to a safer post-Sept. 11 world was hard to immediately adjust to. One of the biggest changes, the 2002 formation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), re-organized a number of pre-existing agencies.
DHS spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback said that when the department was formed following Sept. 11, 22 agencies were merged. The duties of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service department split into two new offices -- ICE and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
ICE is currently concerned with investigative and law enforcement regarding immigrants, including customs and deportation, while USCIS provides assistance with services to immigrants such as citizenship, employment authorization and foreign student authorization.
Another significant change affecting students has been the implementation of SEVIS, the Web-based computer program that helps ICE report on and track the status of international students. It keeps background information on each student filed along with records of full-time student and employment status, address changes, discipline records and financial information.
Although both academic advisers and officials emphasized the increased safety that has come with SEVIS, the system's hasty implementation was not perfect, and it has not corrected all problems facing international students.
"We had to begin using it without knowing how it worked," Friedman said. "Lots of things were unknown, and it caused a lot of fear and uncertainty."
The advisers said SEVIS was a pre-Sept. 11 issue. The program was mandated by the government in 1996 but placed on a slow track to implementation.
But Assaf said the pace was probably quickened as a result of the attacks. The system also received extra funding as a result of the Patriot Act.
Zuieback and Adrianne Joves, another DHS spokeswoman, said they feel SEVIS has had a positive effect on international students.
"The biggest change with SEVIS is it has created a much more streamlined approach," Zuieback said. "We've really converted what was once a manual process into an automated service."
SEVIS also addresses issues presented by the fact that some of the hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 attacks had student visas. Joves said SEVIS is designed to shut down vulnerabilities by actively tracking international students, but also to encourage and welcome students by posing very little responsibility on their end.
Assaf said she believes the system is transparent to most students, although SEVIS's impact has changed some business for the OISS.
"The rules are basically the same, except they now have SEVIS," Assaf said. "There is more reporting done, more than in the past. As a result, there are more ramifications."
Under SEVIS, if a student is not registered full time, as may have been the case with Wang, he or she is terminated in the system, does not receive benefits and must be reported to ICE. The student might receive a letter from ICE requesting an interview, but he or she could also be arrested without warning.
"We do everything we can to make sure they don't violate the rules," Assaf said.
While officials say SEVIS's transparency can cause less trouble for students, some do not know much about the system. Broome said she had not even heard of the program.
"It makes you feel a little like Big Brother is watching," she said.
But ICE feels that SEVIS works for the students as much as it maintains security.
"Its purpose is to keep our nation safe while facilitating the entry and exit phase," Zuieback said. "The system is put into place so [international students] can get here."
The frequency of cases like Wang's, in which federal agencies actually become involved, has been low at Penn State, even before the new system was implemented.
Assaf said there have been fewer than 10 cases in the last two decades. She added that if an immigrant's case does extend out of his or her academic life, illegal behavior is always handled as a criminal case, without any extra layer added by the immigration factor.
"In 20, 25 years, out of 3,000 to 4,000 international students a year, that's significantly low," Assaf said. "And those individuals might have been arrested for ... the normal course of events that lead to [the arrest of any individual]."
Qiu offered advice for international students that might find themselves in such a situation.
"For an international student, it's very important that they are very cooperative with authorities. Whatever notices they receive, they have to respond," he said. "Whenever you feel you're in immigration trouble, contact an immigration lawyer immediately."
SEVIS has also increased the difficulty of the process of reinstatement, or the means through which an international student attempts to be forgiven after violating a rule. International student adviser Maureen Costello said the process, once a "routine, rubber stamp procedure," now faces much more scrutiny.
"Officers have more pressures from other officers [to be more thorough]," international student adviser Pat Coleman said. "Some people were not denying anyone before."
Friedman said he thinks SEVIS is running smoothly today, despite its rough start. He also said the number of serious problems for students have been relatively small.
"It's no comfort if you're one out of the thousands of students and you're not able to get an assistantship or visit your family ... as a result of the error," he said.
The department helps international students face other problems as well. If a student cannot attend the First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program before the first semester, advisers in some departments might arrange his or her schedule so changes can be made around required classes.
There are also some post-graduation problems that might arise for international students. Many are offered jobs immediately following the completion of their studies, in which case they must apply for a new visa. Costello said the time this process takes, however, might also take too long, and students that cannot legally stay in the country to begin work have lost jobs as a result.
Other visa issues may arise while a student is living in the United States. A visa's duration is different for some countries -- eight months for China, 10 years for India -- and the number of times a student may leave and re-enter also varies. As a result, some students, such as Broome, said they might be reluctant to travel or visit home, and may stay away for several years of study.
"Virtually every time they travel, they have to reapply for a visa, with the risk of being denied," Friedman said. "There's no way to go home for a short visit, because the student often has to wait. It really does control their life."
The ICE does what it can to help students travel during their educational experience, however.
"We recognize that studying is educational in that it's a cultural experience as well," Joves said.
Each level of administration is taking several steps to expedite the process while maintaining the level of security. Penn State's OISS advisers said they do their part to handle responsibilities as quickly as possible.
"We can work as quick as we can to get our documents out the door," Assaf said. "We do the best we can to get them out so that our part of the process is not the problem. But our hands are tied in some ways."
In addition to hosting a comprehensive Web site, the OISS also sends brochures to U.S. Department of State consulates in several countries and in many languages.
Costello added that embassies are aware of the problem, and have begun attempts to quicken the process of evaluating international students. Zuieback also said the State Department works with students and provides fact sheets in several different languages to encourage international studying.
For now, both advisers and international students said systems such as SEVIS will have to maintain the balance between welcoming diversity and guarding security.
"I guess, rightfully so, that the government is very wary of students," Guruswamy said. "But how much is too much?"
GRAPHIC: Sara Parris/Collegian
SOURCE: Penn State Office of International Students and Scholars
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