The FBI and U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state and lo...

1. FBI Seeks Missing Egyptian Students
The FBI and U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state
and local law enforcement this week about 11 Egyptian students who failed to report to their classes
at Montana State University after they entered the country last month.
The 11 students entered the United States through New York's John F. Kennedy International
Airport on July 29, 2006, but have failed to arrive at MSU, where they were scheduled to take
English and other academic courses as part of an exchange program with Mansoura University,
which is located in Alexandria, Egypt.
"The FBI and ICE would like to locate these 11 students in order to speak with them," FBI
spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement released Monday. "At this point all they have done is
not show up for a scheduled academic program and their student visas have been revoked."
The students are required to register with the university under ICE's Student and Exchange Visitor
Program, which was set up after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to make sure that only
legitimate foreign students are granted entry into the United States. Law enforcement and
immigration officials envisioned the program shortly after the 9/11 attacks and have required
schools and exchange programs to use the system since February 2003.
Several of the 9/11 hijackers had listed their occupations as "student" on their visa forms, but only
hijacker pilot Hani Hanjour had applied for a student visa. On his visa application, which was
released by the 9/11 Commission, Hanjour never listed what university or college he would be
attending; the SEVP was meant to fill this gap in security.
Since the program has been up and running, more than 10,300 schools and universities have
participated in it, with more than 1 million foreign exchange visitors and students registering. ICE
has generated 7,600 leads on potential student visa violations since the program began in 2003, and
ICE has arrested more than 1,800 individuals for visa violations under the program.
Despite initial problems in coordinating reporting requirements to DHS, homeland security experts
believe the system is now working effectively.
"[It] now appears to be functioning quite well in helping track those foreigners in the United States
on student visas," Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael O'Hanlon said in recent congressional
testimony. "Those who overstay visas can be more quickly identified and located."
According to the FBI's bulletin, which was distributed to law enforcement agencies and U.S.
intelligence officials, out of the 20 applicants in the exchange program, three students were denied a
U.S. visa for unknown reasons, six students have arrived at the University of Montana, and the other
11 have yet to arrive.
FBI and Homeland Security officials said the individuals are not believed to pose a threat but are in
violation of their visas for failing to report to the listed destination as part of the exchange program.
The Egyptian Embassy in Washington did Immigration Lawyers not return calls from ABC News
about the student's whereabouts and visa status.

2. Although the FBI and ICE have issued a nationwide "Be On the Lookout" or BOLO alert, the FBI does
not believe the missing students are associated with any terrorist group or threat.
"The FBI and ICE, along with the state and local police, continue to work to locate and interview
these students. This remains an active investigation. There is no threat associated with these
students," Kolko said.
In an interview with ABC News, Norman Peterson, director of the Office of International Programs
at the Montana State University said, "We are very anxious to get to the bottom of this situation, to
find out where the students are and what they are doing."
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