College officials are worried that a reported government proposal to interview nearly all foreigners applying for visas to enter the United States will keep many foreign students and professors from getting into the country in time for the fall term.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the U.S. Department of State is developing new policies that will require almost all foreigners seeking visas -- millions of people -- to have in-person interviews with consular officials before getting approval for the documents. According to an article in the Journal, the department is working with the White House and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to scrutinize foreign visitors more closely and weed out potential terrorists. One tactic in that effort is to increase the number of applicants interviewed.

No changes in policy or practice have been announced or are pending, said Kelly G. Shannon, a spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. But officials at international-education associations confirmed that they had heard that the State Department would soon announce a shift in policy to its more than 200 embassies and consulates worldwide.

"They're likely to issue it any day now," said Lance Pressl, vice president for federal relations and public affairs at the Council of Graduate Schools.

The State Department, in principle, requires each applicant for a student visa to have an in-person interview, but embassies and consulates may set their own rules. "Under the law," Ms. Shannon said, "all applicants are required to appear unless it's been waived by the consular officer." Mr. Pressl said he expected the change would require consular officers to interview all applicants.

The new policy itself would not be a change for international students, said Victor C. Johnson, associate executive director for public policy at Nafsa: Association of International Educators. But with the tremendous increase in interviews of people in other visa categories, particularly in the business and tourist groups, he said, "the line is just going to be a lot longer."

The result for foreign students and professors may be additional delays when they attempt to enter the United States. Getting into the country on time is crucial for foreign students, Mr. Johnson said, so adding many more people to the interview list would be "tantamount to a denial of a visa" for the students.

College officials said that the new procedure would need to be well thought out and adequately financed to work, but they doubted whether it would be. Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government affairs at the American Council on Education, said that his sources had told him that nothing in the new policy would provide more money or consular staff members.

Without sufficient money and manpower devoted to interviews, said Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, "it's very likely there will be a significant number of students that will not be able to arrive on time in the fall."

In addition to problems stemming from the new interview policy, colleges are still scrambling to deal with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or Sevis, which the Homeland Security Department uses to track foreign students. Information on all foreign students currently enrolled is scheduled to be in the system by August 1. The government is also expected soon to start collecting a fee from foreign students to help pay for Sevis, even though no details on that have yet been released.

Considering the confluence and complexity of obligations that colleges will face, said Ms. Stewart, by this summer, "we could be heading for a Perfect Storm-type situation."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------