Law Puts Restrictions on Some Foreign Students

A little-noticed provision of the federal immigration law that went into effect this past November puts new restrictions on some foreign students who want to study in U.S. public schools.

The provision, part of the voluminous Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that President Clinton signed last fall, affects students who enter the United States on what is known as an F-1 visa. Generally, such students are not part of an organized student-exchange program.

The new law bars foreign students from receiving F-1 visas to study in public elementary and middle schools, grades K-8. Foreign students who wish to study in U.S. public high schools must pay the local school district for their education--and show proof of such payment--before being allowed to enter the country. They can attend the high school for no...