By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A system for tracking foreign students in America could be up and running in about a year with relatively little money from Congress, immigration commissioner James Ziglar told House members Thursday.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service was ordered in 1996 to develop a database program by Dec. 20, 2003, to keep track of the approximately 600,000 foreign students in the United States.

Ziglar told the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee that INS is on track to meet the deadline, but could beat it by a year with more money. Afterward, INS officials pegged the amount at $36.8 million.

Once it's operational, the system will be paid for with a $95 fee charged to each foreign student, Ziglar said.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Kit Bond, R-Mo., are pushing for background checks for foreign visa applicants and a sophisticated tracking system once they arrive. Feinstein has pegged the cost for a computerized INS monitoring system at $32.3 million.

Currently, foreign students provide a form to INS at ports of entry and that information is entered into a database, sometimes months later. The form includes the student's name, country of citizenship, an address, whether the student is full or part-time, coursework, degree program, termination date and reasons for termination, and the number of school credits accumulated.

The INS wants an Internet-based system so the information is easily accessible and current. Schools also will be asked to report the student's current address, visa classification and issue date, current academic or program status and any disciplinary action taken against the student.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks exposed problems with the system for identifying and tracking foreign students and workers. But even before then, the INS had many critics on Capitol Hill because of its reputation for shoddy record-keeping and poor customer service.

"Way before the events of Sept. 11 and especially since, the status of aliens in our country has been a weighty problem," said Rep. George Gekas, R-Pa., who chairs the committee.

Randolph Hite, a director of the General Accounting Office, testified that his auditors have found the INS has been unable to keep track of its technology and control its costs. In some cases, INS couldn't even explain why it had certain technology, said Hite, whose agency is an investigative arm of Congress.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, cautioned against hastily approving more money for INS, whose budget has grown from $1.4 billion in 1992 to more than $5 billion in fiscal year 2001.

Ziglar, who took over INS two months ago, has acknowledged past problems but says improvements are being made.

Ziglar said Thursday the INS would like to deploy 1,100 high-tech machines that can provide information on foreigners through fingerprints. The INS already has more than 800 machines in Border Patrol stations and inspection stations beyond the border.

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On the Net: Immigration and Naturalization Service http://www.ins.usdoj.gov

Department of Justice Office of Inspector General: http://www.http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/