Immigration and Naturalization Service's Contacts with Two September 11 Terrorists: A Review of the INS's Admissions of Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi, its Processing of their Change of Status Applications, and its Efforts to Track Foreign Students in

摘要

Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi were 2 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked and crashed 4 airplanes on September 11, 2001, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 individuals, the complete destruction of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, and extensive damage to the Pentagon. Atta is believed to have been the pilot who flew the plane into the Trade Center's North Tower. Alshehhi is believed to have flown the plane into the South Tower. Both terrorists died in the attack. Six months later, on March 11, 2002, Huffman Aviation International, a small flight training school in Venice, Florida, received official documents sent by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) relating to Atta and Alshehhi. Both had taken pilot lessons at the flight school. In the spring of 2000, both had entered the United States legally using visitor visas, and in September 2000 had requested that the INS change their status from that of visitor to that of vocational student so they could attend the flight training school. They did so by filing an I-539 change of status application with the INS. The documents opened by the flight school on March 11, 2002, were INS I-20 forms, which informed the school that Attas and Alshehhis applications had been approved more than seven months earlier Attas in July and Alshehhis in August 2001. Within a day, media across the country were reporting the story, and the INS came under intense criticism.