The Trump administration has ordered US embassies worldwide to immediately stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students as it prepares to implement comprehensive social media screening for all international applicants.
A Tuesday state department cable instructs consular sections to pause adding “any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued” within days.
Officials plan to issue guidance on “expanded social media vetting for all such applicants”.
The new expansion would apply social media vetting to all student visa applicants, not just those flagged for activism.
There are more than one million foreign students in the United States, contributing nearly $43.8bn to the US economy and supporting more than 378,000 jobs in 2023 to 2024, according to NAFSA.
As it gets ready to introduce thorough social media screening for all foreign applicants, the Trump administration has directed US embassies around the world to immediately cease holding visa interviews for international students.
A state department cable issued on Tuesday directs consular offices to hold off on adding “any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued” for a few days.
First reported by Politico and now confirmed by the Guardian, the directive could seriously slow down the visa application process and harm universities that depend heavily on international students for funding. Many of these universities are accused by Donald Trump of having far-left ideologies.
“The department is reviewing current procedures and operations for screening and vetting applicants for student and exchange visitor visas,” the cable states. Authorities intend to release guidelines regarding “expanded social media vetting for all such applicants.”.
Current screening procedures, which have mostly targeted students who took part in pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations, have escalated further with the freeze. According to a cable that was obtained by the Guardian at the time, consular officers have been required to perform mandatory social media reviews since March in order to find evidence of support for “terrorist activity or a terrorist organization.” This could include anything as broad as demonstrating support for the Palestinian cause. According to that directive, even if posts were later removed, officers had to take screenshots of “potentially derogatory” content for their records.
All student visa applicants would be subject to social media vetting under the new expansion, not just those who have been flagged for activism. The Trump administration’s position on fighting antisemitism has since been linked to the screening process, which involves consular officers looking through applicants’ posts, shares, and comments on social media sites like Instagram, X, and TikTok for anything they believe poses a threat to national security.
Last week, Rubio informed lawmakers that his department has revoked thousands of visas, up from the more than 300 that were reported in March. He remarked, “We probably have more to do, but I don’t know the latest count.”.
According to NAFSA, there are more than one million international students in the US, who will support more than 378,000 jobs in 2023–2024 and contribute close to $43–8 billion to the US economy. Higher education institutions that already face dwindling international enrollment could face even more difficulties as a result of the visa freeze.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the State Department.
