Male students at Macalester College from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Jordan must now go through a special registration process with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This registration is one of the various methods currently being employed by the government for tracking the activity of men from certain countries living in the United States.

Students who must register will be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed under oath at a designated INS office. Those students from Pakistan must register by Feb. 21 while students from Bangladesh and Jordan have until March 28.

A Pakistani student, who did not want to be identified, said he had heard the deadline for registration for men from Pakistan may be extended.

The special registration and other new security measures are creating problems for some international students, said Aaron Celhapp, Macalester College International Student Coordinator. Celhapp has heard more complaints from international students this week than in the past four years.

The special registration requires students to report any changes in address, employment or educational institution. If a student fails to follow these procedures, he is eligible for deportation, arrest, detention or fines according to statements from the INS.

Students are also required to repeat the process one year after their initial registration. If a student wishes to leave the United States, he must appear before an INS officer the day of his departure according to the INS registration forms.

When Khaled Habayeb '03 went home to Jordan for part of his winter break. He discovered by reading a Jordanian newspaper that he would have to register.

The International Center emailed all eight male Pakistani students on campus in the middle of fall to inform them of the registration. After waiting for six hours in the Bloomington INS office, Hassan Javaid '03 said he was told he did not have to register.

Pakistan was not added to the list of of countries for INS special registration until Dec. 18. When INS actually added Pakistan to the list, the International Center did not send another email to tell the Pakistani students to register, said another Pakistani student.

Security clearance for entering the country has also become more complicated for students from these countries, said Celhapp.

Macalester accepted three male international students last spring who could not attend this fall. All three students could not obtain security clearance before the start of fall classes despite approved student visas.

"Security clearance is supposed to last 30 days but was lasting over 12 weeks this summer", Celhapp said. Relatives of graduating seniors trying to gain visas to attend the spring graduation ceremony could experience similar problems.

Celhapp has particular concerns about students' male relatives.

Habayeb hopes his parents will be able to attend graduation. He requested a letter from the Macalester's President's office on behalf of his parents to show the INS.

It is almost impossible to get a visa from Pakistan, said the Pakistani student. He does not foresee his parents coming for his graduation.

Celhapp says Macalester students are in a better situation than others. The Minnesota INS prides itself on a reputation as the nicest immigration office in the country, Celhapp said.

Both Javaid and the other Pakistani student said they had personally had good experiences with the Minnesota INS. "They [Minnesota INS] are nicer than Chicago", said Javaid.

The Minneapolis airport also has a reputation for being friendly, according to Celhapp.

The Pakistani student who doesn't want to be identified said he could see the reasoning behind special registration. He did not have problems with registering as long as there is no discrimination.