To the editor:

Shortly after I arrived in the Philippines to attend graduate school in 1989, a University of the Philippines official loaded up several of us foreign students in a jeepney and took us across Manila to be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by immigration officials. I don’t recall any of these students complaining about having their privacy invaded. I also don’t recall anyone complaining about having to take an HIV test before even being allowed to enter UP. I think we all saw this as a minor inconvenience that we had to accept as guests in another country.

Given my experience in the Philippines, I was shocked when it was announced that the INS was going to begin fingerprinting, photographing and interviewing foreign students in this country. I had assumed that the United States was like most countries in the world and already performed these procedures.

Oddly, the two students who panned the new INS registration rules in the Jan. 1 issue of the Journal-World are Pakistani. According to the Web site of the International Islamic University, which is based in Islamabad, Pakistan, a foreign student must receive “political clearance” from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then his case is forwarded to The Ministry of Education for “security clearance.” Once the student receives a study visa, he is asked to refrain from participating in any political activities.

I’m not sure what takes place during “political clearance” and “security clearance,” but I bet it’s much more invasive than a 20-minute interview.

Kevin Groenhagen,

Lawrence