The Trump administration has ordered a pause in the processing of new student visas and is preparing to introduce a new procedure for screening applicants, which will include mandatory review of their social media posts.
The Donald Trump administration has instructed US embassies and consulates to temporarily suspend interviews with applicants for F, M and J student visas, US media reported on Wednesday, citing an internal document signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The measure is being introduced in connection with the administration’s plans to expand background checks on applicants, in particular to make it mandatory to monitor their social media accounts. Earlier, such checks were already being carried out selectively on students who were believed to have participated in protests against Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
The criteria for evaluating social media pages have not yet been disclosed, but the document mentions decrees aimed at combating terrorism and anti-Semitism. Interviews are being suspended until further instructions are received in the coming days. Interviews that have already been scheduled are not affected by the ban.
The White House-US academic community conflict
The forced pause in interviews comes at the peak of the application period for US study visas and could significantly slow down the process or even jeopardise the admission of foreign applicants to American universities. Universities, a significant part of whose budget comes from tuition fees paid by students from abroad, will be hit hardest by the US administration’s decision.
The Association of International Educators (NAFSA) has sharply criticised the US government’s order. The organisation’s CEO, Fanta Aw, said: “The assumption that foreign students may pose a threat is absurd. They are an asset to the United States. The financial and time costs of such checks also raise serious questions.”
The move to suspend student visa processing is the latest twist in the conflict between the White House and the US academic community, which has been under increasing pressure from the authorities in recent times. Earlier, Donald Trump initiated the revocation of visas for participants in pro-Palestinian protests on American university campuses and attempted to ban foreign students from Harvard, but a US district court blocked this decision.
