President Donald Trump’s government has ordered that visa appointments for foreign students be paused to ensure a thorough social media vetting of applicants.
The U.S. State Department, in a cable issued on Tuesday, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ordered U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide to halt all new visa interviews until further instructions are issued.
“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 is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable reads.
While the cable did not specify what the social media vetting would look out for in foreign students applying to study in the U.S., it is reported to be aimed at blocking pro-terrorist and antisemitism students.
This move would slow visa processing and also impact universities that rely on foreign students’ enrollment for funding.
Last week, Mr Trump stripped Harvard University of the right to enrol international students as a sanction for what his government claimed was tolerating antisemitism.
However, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of a federal court in Boston reversed the Trump-led administration’s decision to bar Harvard University’s enrollment of international students.
