The Trump administration has ordered US embassies worldwide to stop visa interviews for foreign students.
The directive, first obtained and reported by Politico, revealed that US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, ordered a pause on student visa interviews for a comprehensive social media screening process to take place. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance,” the directive said.
This builds on current screening measures that have targeted students participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests, resulting in deportations and revoked visas. Last week, Reuters reported that the number of visas Rubio has revoked was likely in the thousands, an increase from March, when he said they had revoked more than 300 student and visitor visas.
The new vetting process will apply to all student visa applicants. Applicants’ posts, shares, and comments across platforms such as Instagram, X, and TikTok will be under scrutiny, according to the Guardian.
Since March, consular offices have been required to conduct mandatory social media searches looking for evidence in support of terrorist activity or a terrorist organisation. This connects to the announcement made by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in April to combat antisemitism. The USCIS said it would examine travellers’ activity on social media and would deny entry if the content was deemed antisemitic.
