Alan Simpson: “The amendment provides a source of funding for INS to establish a very basic system for keeping track of foreign…”

“The amendment provides a source of funding for INS to establish a very basic system for keeping track of foreign students. It is a measure supported by the FBI Director, who expressed concerns at our ability to track such students in a 1994 memorandum regarding possible tariffs. It is not an intrusive provision. Colleges and universities are already required to provide this sort of information to the INS. The problem in the past has been that the INS has not devoted such resources to this activity to create a body of reliable information. The amendment's aim is to provide the funding so the INS can implement a system to keep track of foreign students studying here, and it seems reasonable such funding should come from the students themselves and not from the taxpayers. A student who is willing to pay $10,000 or $20,000 in this country, or $80,000 to $100,000 through the entire curriculum, is not likely to be seriously concerned about paying the additional fee of $50 or $100 for the issuance of the student visa in accordance with this amendment.”