Foreign Students' Tracking Slammed By BILL BERGSTROM, Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Educators are criticizing plans for a national computer database to track foreign students, saying it was adopted in a climate of fear following the World Trade Center bombing. With the U.S. share of such students declining, the government needs to make things easier for those who want to study in the United States - not more difficult, said Victor Johnson, a policy official with NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The United States remained the leading destination for foreign students, with 514,723 during the 1999-2000 academic year, Johnson said. However, its 30 percent share of international students has declined from 40 percent in 1982. ``American higher education is the envy of the world, but we put these obstacles in the way,'' Johnson said Wednesday at the group's annual convention. The requirement for a computer database to collect information on foreign students and exchange program participants was part of a law passed by Congress in 1996. It was prompted partly by an allegation that a terrorist implicated in the 1993 trade center bombing in New York had originally entered the country on a student visa, Johnson said. He said the plan would collect up to $100 per student to pay for the computer system. Foreign students would need a receipt to get a visa. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is working on implementing the tracking system, and the State Department, in charge of issuing visas, have resisted collecting the fees. Johnson said that leaves it up to school officials to collect the money and get receipts to students. The INS is delaying fee collections until Sept. 30, ``so it wouldn't affect fall enrollments,'' said Eyleen Schmidt, an INS spokeswoman in Washington. Whether to repeal the law is up to Congress, she said. - Sayonara!!!Good Night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite.
