International students and faculty members may encounter lengthy delays when seeking a specific field of education or returning to the United States after vacation.

The Technology Alert List, established in 1955, can delay visas for international faculty or students coming to the United States who are perceived to potentially violate laws “prohibiting the export of goods, technology or sensitive information.”

The Technology Alert List includes a Critical Fields List, which lists majors believed to have the potential to be used in the transfer of technology to certain countries. These countries are designated as “State Sponsors of Terrorism.”

Patricia Parker, assistant director of admissions, said there have been revisions made to the list since the World Trade Center attacks.

She said the list was originally designed to maintain technological superiority over the Warsaw Pact.

“It is a list of critical fields that the Department of States examine if a visa applicant from a specific country has the potential to support terrorism,” Parker said.

It is possible the alert list has contributed to a decrease in international students at Iowa State, Parker said.

Undergraduate and graduate international students have decreased by 108 students from last year, she said.

“The problem is not that they were refused their visa — they were just delayed,” she said.

Higher fees and security checks may also be the reason for the decrease, Parker said.

Dennis Peterson, director of International Educational Services, said all universities and colleges are required to participate in the extra review process under the law.

“There is a pretty wide view of majors at Iowa State included in the list,” Peterson said. “Everything from biochemistry to housing development.”

Applicants from the designated list of state sponsors of terrorism warrant “special scrutiny and are subject to a mandatory Visa Mantis check,” according to the Texas A&M University International Faculty and Scholars Services Web site, www.tamu.edu/isd/pdf/tech_

alert.pdf.

The check may result in the delay or denial of visas for applicants.

The process may take as long as six to eight months, Peterson said, which may ruin the student or faculty’s plans of studying or working in the United States.

The process also applies to current students and faculty members seeking to re-enter the United States.

Parker said the application is now more difficult and takes longer than in previous years.

Peterson said international students could also be detained for “several months for review.”

“We are urging international students to reconsider vacations,” Peterson said.