The list of possible suspects under strict scrutiny of student visas in the United States has increased to 900,000.

The list of possible suspects in the United States to strictly check student visas has increased to 900,000. The National Counterterrorism Center said that the watch list of terrorist suspects managed by the center has expanded significantly in the past five years, from 540,000 people...

The list of possible suspects in the United States to strictly check student visas has increased to 900,000. The National Counterterrorism Center said the terrorist watch list it manages has expanded significantly over the past five years, from 540,000 to 875,000 at the end of 2012. There are nearly 9,000 Americans among them, including both U.S. citizens and green card holders. The Counterterrorism Center said the watch list is confidential and real names will not be released. An intelligence official doesn't believe the expansion of the terror watch list, officially known as the Terrorist Identity Database Environment (TIDE), will make it harder to find actual terrorists. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies across the country are equipped with software that can sift through data to find the intelligence they need. "We use watch lists every day to look for the results we're looking for," the intelligence official said. The 875,000 people on the watch list are terrorists or suspected terrorists, and their names are spelled in different spellings and aliases. Intelligence officials say terror watch lists have ballooned in recent years, in part because of the 2009 underpants bomber's failed attempt to blow up a plane. The management of the watch lists has been criticized by Congress, prompting the Counterterrorism Center to revise its rules. Intelligence officials say the bar is now lowered on who should be included on the list and does not require a bad record. Customs orders strict inspection of international student visas According to the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security ordered in an internal meeting on Friday that all customs staff must take immediate action to strictly ensure that every international student entering the United States holds a valid student visa. This is the first security policy change the government has issued since the Boston bombing. The order was issued on Friday by David J. Murphy, a top official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Just one day ago, the government confirmed that one of the three newly arrested suspects in the Boston case successfully entered the United States in January this year even though his student visa had expired, causing considerable criticism. According to earlier reports, on April 27, the Massachusetts police arrested two young men in a black BMW with the words "Terrorist Number One" written on the license plate. It was confirmed that they were friends of Dzhokhar Nayev, the suspect in the Boston terrorist attack, and had taken photos with Dzhokhar in Times Square. The pair were indicted on obstruction of justice charges after helping the second suspect in the Boston case get rid of a backpack containing gunpowder. According to reports, the two young men are from Kazakhstan and are named Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev. They were detained by the police for questioning on the 19th of this month and were later released. On the 20th, they were arrested again for violating immigration laws. According to the New York Times, they face deportation. Suspects are still able to enter the United States even after being expelled. There are serious loopholes in the registration system for international students. Many people are currently questioning whether two new suspects can still return to the United States after being expelled from their schools after entering the country. This exposes serious loopholes in the registration system for international students in the United States. The student visas held by the two Kazakhstani suspects arrested by the US authorities have expired. Among them, Tazkhayakov left the country and successfully entered the United States after his visa expired. Kadyrbayev, who majored in engineering, was expelled from school last fall due to poor grades, but has been stranded in the country since then. Economics major Tazkhayakov was also expelled from school and his visa expired on January 4. However, what is puzzling is that after leaving the country in December last year, he successfully entered the United States in New York on January 20 this year when he returned to the United States. Federal authorities said that when Tazkhayakov re-entered the country, his record was still in the Department of Homeland Security's International Students and Exchange Scholars Information System. But he also admitted that Customs and Border Protection did not receive timely notification that he had been expelled from the school.