The U.S. government, under President Trump, has told all American embassies around the world to stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students right away. This is happening because they want to start checking social media for all international students who want to come to the U.S.
On Tuesday, the State Department sent a message to its offices, telling them to hold off on making any new appointments for student or exchange visitor visas (these are F, M, and J visas) until they get more instructions in the next few days.
This news, first shared by Politico and later confirmed by the Guardian, could really slow down the process for getting visas. It might also hurt colleges and universities that depend on foreign students for money, especially since Trump has criticized some of these schools for having very liberal ideas.
The State Department mentioned that they are reviewing how they check and approve student visa applications. They plan to start looking at social media for all applicants to see if there’s anything concerning.
This new rule is a step up from what they were already doing, which mainly focused on students who took part in protests supporting Palestine.
Since March, consular officers (the people who help with visas) have had to check social media to find any signs of support for “terrorist activity or a terrorist organization.” This could even include showing support for the Palestinian cause. They were required to take screenshots of any posts that might be seen as negative, even if those posts were deleted later.
Now, the social media checks will apply to all students applying for visas, not just those who are involved in protests. Officers will look at what applicants post, share, and comment on platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok to find anything they think could be a threat to national security. This is connected to the Trump administration’s efforts to fight against antisemitism.
Senator Rubio mentioned last week that his department has taken away “probably in the thousands” of visas, which is a lot more than the over 300 that were reported in March. He said, “I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do.”
There are over one million foreign students in the U.S., and they help the economy by contributing nearly $43.8 billion and supporting more than 378,000 jobs for the years 2023 to 2024, according to NAFSA. The freeze on visas could make things even harder for colleges and universities that are already seeing fewer international students enrolling.
The State Department hasn’t replied yet to questions about this situation.