HR7063-119

What This Bill Does

The Student Visa Integrity Act of 2026 is a comprehensive student-visa integrity package. It requires academic institutions, language training programs, and study programs seeking F, M, or J approval or designation to be accredited by an Education-recognized accreditor, with limited DHS waiver authority for institutions already pursuing accreditation. It adds SEVIS reporting of the date a nonimmigrant student fully pays tuition. Institutions seeking SEVP certification or recertification must disclose contracts, agreements, financial transactions, and contributions tied to Government of the People's Republic of China-funded educational, cultural, or language entities. DHS or State must impose fines of at least $1,000, suspend document-issuance authority, or terminate approval or designation for reporting failures; fraud suspicion or indictment can trigger immediate suspension of school approval, exchange-visitor designation, officer database access, or document-issuance authority. Principals, designated school officials, responsible officers, and alternate responsible officers must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents, pass criminal, sex offender, immigration, public-safety, and national-security eligibility reviews every four years, and complete online training. Flight training providers must be FAA certificated under part 141 or 142 to receive or keep SEVP certification. Accreditors must notify DHS and State of accreditation loss within 30 days, and DHS must terminate affected F or M approval. The bill expands tracking to additional nonimmigrants pursuing study, requires language and flight training to occur in F, J, or M status, bars specified country-of-concern nationals from flight, aviation, nuclear, or Iranian energy-sector study, bars foreign-adversary country citizens from U.S. higher education unless the Secretary identifies otherwise, replaces duration of status with definite end dates generally capped at program length or four years plus limited post-study time, caps online education at 10 percent for F, M, and study-based J programs, expands DHS information requests, updates enrollment reporting deadlines, gives fee flexibility for SEVIS, requires SEVIS II deployment within two years, requires a GAO implementation report by December 31, 2026, and requires consular officers to review a domestic-worker and nonimmigrant protections pamphlet with F, J, or M study visa applicants.

Who Benefits and How

DHS SEVP staff, State Department consular officers, national security officials, accredited schools with strong compliance systems, students attending legitimate programs, and communities concerned about visa fraud benefit from stronger accreditation, disclosure, fraud, review, tracking, and end-date rules. The Department of Education and recognized accreditors benefit from a clearer gatekeeping role. Congress benefits from GAO review of implementation. Students may benefit when SEVIS II creates person-centric records and paperless processes that reduce duplicate records and improve status clarity.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Colleges, language training programs, exchange visitor programs, designated school officials, responsible officers, foreign students, flight training providers, PRC-funded campus partners, foreign-adversary country applicants, accreditors, DHS SEVP staff, State consular officers, and GAO auditors bear the main burdens. Schools must maintain accreditation, disclose PRC-linked contracts and contributions, report tuition and enrollment dates, release student data to DHS, manage online-study limits, and risk fines, suspension, or termination. International students face more status restrictions, definite end dates, country-based exclusions, online-course limits, and pamphlet-review steps before visa issuance.

Key Provisions

• Requires accreditation for academic institutions, language training programs, and study programs seeking F, M, or J approval or designation.
• Requires schools to report full tuition-payment dates and disclose PRC-funded contracts, transactions, and contributions.
• Strengthens SEVIS penalties through fines, suspension, termination, and fraud-based immediate sanctions.
• Requires eligibility reviews and training for principals, designated school officials, responsible officers, and alternate responsible officers.
• Requires FAA part 141 or 142 certification for flight training providers seeking or holding SEVP certification.
• Bars specified country-of-concern or foreign-adversary nationals from covered flight, nuclear, Iranian energy-sector, or higher-education study.
• Requires definite student stay end dates, generally capped at program length or four years plus limited post-study time.
• Limits online education to 10 percent of class time or credits for covered student statuses.
• Requires SEVIS II deployment within two years and a GAO implementation report by December 31, 2026.