Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks throughout a listening to of the Home Committee on Overseas Affairs on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Could 21, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
conceal caption
toggle caption
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
WASHINGTON — The State Division has halted the scheduling of latest visa interviews for overseas college students hoping to check within the U.S. whereas it prepares to develop the screening of their exercise on social media, officers stated.
A U.S. official stated Tuesday the suspension is meant to be short-term and doesn’t apply to candidates who already had scheduled their visa interviews. The official spoke on situation of anonymity to debate an inside administration doc.
A cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Related Press says the State Division plans to challenge steering on expanded social media vetting.
“Efficient instantly, in preparation for an growth of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections shouldn’t add any extra scholar or change customer visa appointment capability” till the steering is issued, the cable says.
Requested in regards to the suspension at a briefing Tuesday, State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated the U.S. makes use of each accessible useful resource to vet individuals making use of for visas.
“We’ll proceed to make use of each device we are able to to evaluate who it’s that is coming right here, whether or not they’re college students or in any other case,” Bruce stated.
The transfer, first reported by Politico, is the newest within the Trump administration’s crackdown on worldwide college students.
Final week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard College’s means to enroll worldwide college students, eradicating the school from this system that permits faculties to sponsor overseas college students for visas. That effort was shortly challenged in courtroom and for now could be blocked by a federal decide.
This spring the administration additionally revoked the authorized standing of hundreds of worldwide college students already within the nation, main some to go away the U.S. out of worry of deportation. After many college students filed profitable authorized challenges, the administration stated it was restoring the scholars’ authorized standing. However the authorities additionally expanded the grounds for terminating worldwide college students’ authorized standing going ahead.
President Donald Trump’s earlier administration stepped up scrutiny of all visa candidates, introducing opinions of their social media accounts. The coverage remained throughout President Joe Biden’s administration.
An prolonged pause in scheduling scholar visas may result in delays that will disrupt faculty, boarding-school or change college students’ plans to enroll in summer time and fall phrases.
A downturn in enrollment of worldwide college students may harm college budgets. To make up for cuts in federal analysis funding, some faculties shifted to enrolling extra worldwide college students, who typically pay full tuition.
