The U.S. State Department mentioned Wednesday (June 18, 2025) it’s restarting the suspended course of for foreigners making use of for scholar visas but all candidates will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for authorities overview.
The division mentioned consular officers will probably be looking out for posts and messages that may very well be deemed hostile to the United States, its authorities, tradition, establishments or founding rules.
In a discover made public Wednesday, the division mentioned it had rescinded its May suspension of scholar visa processing but mentioned new candidates who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and permit them to be reviewed could also be rejected. It mentioned a refusal to achieve this may very well be an indication they’re making an attempt to evade the requirement or conceal their on-line exercise.
The Trump administration final month briefly halted the scheduling of latest visa interviews for foreign students hoping to research within the U.S. whereas getting ready to increase the screening of their exercise on social media, officers mentioned.
Students all over the world have been ready anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, because the window left to guide their journey and make housing preparations narrows forward of the beginning of the varsity yr.
On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. scholar in Toronto was in a position to safe an appointment for a visa interview subsequent week. The scholar, a Chinese nationwide, hopes to journey to the U.S. for a analysis intern place that may begin in late July. “I’m really relieved,” mentioned the coed, who spoke on situation of being recognized solely by his surname, Chen, as a result of he was involved about being focused. “I’ve been refreshing the website couple of times every day.”
Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media websites that they’ve been monitoring visa reserving web sites and carefully watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings may resume.
“Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,” the division mentioned in an announcement.
“To facilitate this vetting” candidates “will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to ‘public,’” it mentioned. “The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.”
In inside steerage despatched to consular officers, the division mentioned they need to be trying for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.”
Jameel Jaffer, government director on the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, mentioned the brand new coverage evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War when outstanding artists and intellectuals had been excluded from the U.S.
“This coverage makes a censor of each consular officer, and it’ll inevitably chill professional political speech each inside and out of doors the United States,” Mr. Jaffer said.
International students in the U.S. have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated.
As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school, which counts on international students for tuition dollars and a quarter of its enrollment. Mr. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15%.
The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address U.S. concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
Published – June 19, 2025 07:30 am IST
