LOS ANGELES, June 22: Several US universities are planning to join hands in opposing the rules proposed by the justice department to fingerprint, photograph and compile detailed background information on visitors from countries on the US “terror list”.

Media reports suggest that the United States’ six biggest universities and college associations are working on a joint strategy as foreign students form the core of American education industry.

Last week, an official of the University of Iowa disagreed with a proposal by the Justice Department saying: “The argument is that this is racial profiling,” said Gary Althen, the university’s director of international students and scholars.

“The argument is that the US government needs to be trying to establish good relationships with Muslim people who are not involved with terrorism. A proposal like this would not contribute to good relationships with Muslim people,” he remarked.

Under the proposed law, each year, visitors would have to provide immigration authorities with documentation of their activities within the US.

For international students at the University of Iowa, it would mean a yearly trip to Omaha, Nebraska, where the regional INS office is based.