Trump halts visa interviews for foreign students, as reported by Politico; seeks to scrutinize their social media networks.
The Trump administration has ordered a temporary suspension of foreign student visa interviews worldwide, Politico reports, citing a diplomatic cable from the State Department. The decision comes as part of efforts to subject student visa applicants to an extensive social media background check.
According to the cable, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. embassies and consular sections around the globe have been directed to halt the scheduling of new interviews for student visa applicants. However, the measure does not affect already scheduled interviews.
The aim of this suspension is to finalize a plan to subject student visa applicants to careful scrutiny of their social media activities, the cable states. Consular sections have been instructed not to schedule any additional appointments for student or exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J) until new guidelines are issued, which are expected to be released in the coming days.
In previous guidelines, for example, students who may have taken part in campus protests were to be investigated. However, officials have privately complained that the guidelines were vague, leaving it unclear whether posting a Palestinian flag photo on a social media platform could lead to additional scrutiny, according to Politico.
This latest move forms part of an ongoing standoff between Trump and Harvard University, following the president's order last week against enrolling foreign students at the university, though a federal judge temporarily blocked this order. The administration is now planning to send a letter to federal agencies on Tuesday, asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard and consider canceling or redirecting them.
The administration's new measures involve an in-depth examination of applicants' social media activities, with the objective of ensuring national security and maintaining the integrity of the visa process, according to State Department spokespersons. The scope of this examination includes assessing whether prospective students support dangerous groups, engage in visa fraud, or show discrepancies in their application information.
With these new requirements, the Trump administration hopes to have a clear understanding of who is entering the country and the reasons behind their visit.
- The Trump administration's decision to suspend foreign student visa interviews globally is aimed at implementing a comprehensive social media background check for applicants.
- The temporary visa suspension has been directed to U.S. embassies and consular sections around the world, halting the scheduling of new interviews for student visa applicants.
- In addition to student visas, the suspension also applies to exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J), with new guidelines expected to be issued in the coming days.
- The administration's intentions behind these new measures include ensuring national security, maintaining the integrity of the visa process, and assessing if applicants support dangerous groups, engage in visa fraud, or show inconsistencies in their application information.
