Details As Trump Halts New Student Visa Interviews with Tight Social Media Screening
The Donald Trump administration has instructed American diplomatic missions worldwide to halt the scheduling of new student visa interview appointments while implementing enhanced social media screening procedures for applicants.
A directive stated that social media examination protocols would be intensified for academic and exchange program visas, creating “significant implications” for diplomatic facilities globally.
This development comes amid broader Trump administration actions targeting prominent American higher education institutions. The administration accuses these universities of political bias toward the left and claims they have inadequately addressed antisemitism during campus demonstrations in support of Palestinian causes.
In response to the policy shift, China has advocated for the protection of international students.
“We urge the U.S. side to earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those from China,” a Chinese official said. American universities host several hundred thousand Chinese students annually.
Academic institutions are expected to raise concerns over these measures. International students represent a crucial revenue stream for many universities, as they typically pay higher tuition rates than domestic students.
International applicants seeking admission to American universities are generally required to complete interviews at U.S. diplomatic facilities in their home countries before receiving visa approval.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday, “We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country, and we’re going to continue to do that.”
The directive, obtained by CBS News (a partner of the BBC), instructed diplomatic missions to cancel all unscheduled student visa appointments while allowing previously arranged interviews to proceed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the suspension would remain in effect “until further guidance is issued.”
The document also outlined preparations within the State Department for an “expansion of required social media screening and vetting” for all academic visa applications.
According to a March report by The Guardian, enhanced social media screening of student visa applicants had already been implemented by the Trump administration and was linked to broader efforts to restrict campus demonstrations advocating for Palestinian causes.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would consider “antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals” as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.
