PITTSBURGH -- Foreigners coming to the United States for work or school are under more intense scrutiny three years after 9/11.

Only six weeks after the attacks, a man from Lebanon was arrested at Pittsburgh International Airport for having a utility knife. What's more, authorities found out he had dropped out of art school and should not have been in the country.

The government said it's keeping a close eye on foreign nationals coming into our country and going out, and as of last week, international students have to pay for a system that tracks their every move.

David Clubb said, "It is Big Brother, but I think it's justified."

As director of the University of Pittsburgh's Office of International Services, Clubb knows just how closely the U.S. government is watching students who come from other countries.

"You have to be cleared by homeland security to have access to this," Clubb said.

Clubb is referring to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS -- data from Pitt and other universities is constantly uploaded to the homeland security database.

Clubb said, "Every night an average of 50 records go up there for changes -- either changes in the address of the person or if they changed their degree or level of their major."

And as of Sept. 1, new international students will be charged $100 apiece to pay for it.

Jerry Chiu said, "Maybe $50 is OK, but $100 is more, yes, is expensive for me. Like me, I come from Taiwan so I don't think it's a good idea."

And since 9/11, international students are finding it's not only more difficult to get a student visa, but time-consuming as well.

"If people are coming here to do research or study in areas that are considered sensitive, maybe they'll go back home and use it in a bad way to harm the U.S. They're tagged for a security clearance and that in the past you can get lost in a black hole that could last up to a year to get that clearance," Clubb said.

Hongyu Wu said, "I think it's reasonable because after Sept. 11, everyone got nervous about these kinds of things."

Target 11's Karen Welles asked, "Do you know you're being watched like that?"
Chung Ryeeun said, "Yeah."
Welles asked, "Does that bother you at all?"
Ryeeun said, "No, yeah. I don't know. I can understand."

It's not only international students who are fingerprinted and photographed when they come to the United States -- so are foreign nationals coming on work visas under a system called U.S. Visit, which is less than a year old.

Immigration attorney Larry Lebowitz said before 9/11 it took six to eight weeks. Now, it could take four months or longer.

"When you file the petition it takes longer, when you go to the consulate it takes longer, and when you go into the country it takes longer -- all for legitimate reasons to make sure that no security breaches occur and that these people are indeed going to be safe for the United States," Lebowitz said.

Although the University of Pittsburgh said its number of international students has held steady since the increased scrutiny, some schools are seeing up to a 40 percent drop with the students instead going to countries like England and Australia who are marketing themselves as more inviting.