"We welcome legal immigrants. ... We welcome the process that encourages people to come to our country to visit, to study or to work. What we don't welcome are people who come to hurt the American people, and so therefore, we're going to be very diligent with our visas and observant with the behavior of people who come to this country,'' Bush said

Bush gave few details about what changes foreign students might expect, except to say his administration will ``tighten up the visa policy'' and keep an eye on students after they arrive.

Federal investigators have concluded that Hani Hanjour, one of the men suspected of hijacking the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, entered the United States last December on a student visa for studying at Holy Names College in Oakland, Calif.

About 600,000 foreigners are admitted each year on student visas and more than 26,000 U.S. colleges and universities are authorized to enroll them.

Some US lawmakers have proposed a six-month moratorium on new foreign student visas until the implementation of a system to track their movements. Bush stopped short of that step on Monday.

- nriol.com report

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