news US extends security clearance for scholars Geoff Brumfiel,Washington visiting the country for con- The US government has ferences and other events will announced that visa-related hold valid security clearance security checks will remain for 12 months. The net effect is M. J. SANCHEZ/AP valid for up to four years. The that researchers will be able to planned change will ease travel move in and out of the United in and out of the country, and States more easily after an greatly reduce the chance that initial check has been done, students or scientists are left according to Angela Aggeler, a stranded abroad. spokeswoman for the state Academic groups are department. delighted with the move,which Aggeler adds that the aver- they say will simplify visitors’ age time taken to make a secur- trips home.“It’s fantastic,”says ity check has already been Wendy White, head of the slashed from 75 to 14 days over international office at the the past year.“We will continue National Academy of Sciences to try and lower the waiting in Washington. “I think it will Hail fellow: visa problems have dogged scientists visiting the United States. time,”she says. make a big difference for visit- “I think that this kind of ing students and scholars.” required for many scientists seeking visas to change sends a good signal to the interna- The Department of State and the work or study in the United States. In the tional community,”says Heath Brown,direc- Department of Homeland Security, which past, the checks have led to lengthy delays tor of research and policy analysis at the are jointly responsible for immigration pol- that caused some researchers to miss meet- Council of Graduate Schools in Washington. icy, revealed their decision on 11 February. ings or the start of academic years. Even stu- A survey by the council last year showed that “This change sends a clear message that the dents who had studied in the United States the number of foreign students admitted to United States encourages those with great for years found themselves unable to return US schools was down in 2004 (see Nature scientific minds to explore studying and until their security checks had been com- 431,231;2004).Brown says that he hopes the working in our country,” said a statement pleted (see Nature 427, 190–195;2004). changes will bring foreign students and from Asa Hutchinson, under-secretary for Under the new scheme, security clear- scholars back to US universities, but he borders and transportation at the homeland ances for students will be valid for four points out that many still see the country as security department. years,and those for scientists working in the an unwelcoming place in the wake of 9/11. Since the terrorist attacks of 11 Septem- United States on scholar or work visas will White agrees: “We have to get the word out ber 2001, background checks have been last for two years. In addition, researchers that things really are better.” ■ Nuclear-physics research falls foul of budget cuts Jessica Ebert,Washington would cancel or delay several other projects The 2006 nuclear-physics request for US physicists are hitting out hard at the that the plan identified as priorities. US$371 million is 8% less than this year’s Bush administration’s budget proposal for For instance, the budget would cancel budget. Brookhaven and the Thomas next year. They claim that the plan, which the BTeV experiment, which aims to use the Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in would cut overall spending on research in Tevatron collider at Fermilab, Chicago, to Newport News, Virginia, would bear the physics by about 4%, will imperil the investigate the imbalance between matter brunt of the cut. At the Jefferson lab, a plan country’s global leadership in the discipline. and antimatter in the Universe. The to double the energy of the laboratory’s “If these cuts stand,”says Tom Ludlam, a experiment received a top ranking in the continuous electron beam — also ranked physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory 2003 plan.“This is quite a blow to us,”says highly in the 2003 plan — would be deferred. in New York state,“there will be a significant project director Joel Butler.“Everything In addition, the electron beam’s operating reduction in the number of PhD scientists, was in place,”he adds.“We were more than hours would be cut by almost one-third. graduate students, postdocs and senior ready to go.” At Brookhaven, the cut would decrease scientists doing physics here in America.” The science-office budget has been operating hours at the Relativistic Heavy Ion The Department of Energy’s Office of essentially flat since 2001, but Raymond Collider — the laboratory’s main nuclear- Science, which funds most US physics Orbach, head of the energy department’s physics facility — by almost two-thirds. research, formulated a plan in November science office, defends the 2006 proposal. “It’s not a good situation,”says Rick Casten, 2003 to construct or upgrade 28 different “I’m very happy with the structure of the a physicist at Yale University and chairman facilities over the next 20 years. Physicists budget,”he says.“It enables us to maintain of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee. say that the proposed budget will prevent scientific leadership on a global scale.” “We’re going to lose our competitiveness if the plan from being implemented. Martha Krebs, a consultant in Los this keeps up and is not reversed.” ■ If approved by Congress, the budget Angeles who ran the science office under Bill request would support some of the facilities, Clinton, says the budget reveals the areas in For more news and analysis go to including construction of the Linac which the Bush administration wants to “be Coherent Light Source at the Stanford Linear a leader”.She says that nuclear physics, in www.nature.com/news Accelerator Center in California. But it particular, does not seem to be one of these. 672 NATURE | VOL 433 | 17 FEBRUARY 2005 | www.nature.com/nature © 2005 Nature Publishing Group.