US halts students visa appointments in favour of social media vetting

The United States State Department has instructed embassies and consulates around the world to pause new student visa appointments.

According to a diplomatic cable issued on Tuesday morning and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, missions globally are to pause all new appointments for F, M, and J category visas, which cover international students and exchange visitors, pending further guidance from Washington.

The decision, it. said, will allow the State Department to develop guidance to expand “social media screening and vetting” to all applicants. The department “is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants.”

However, interviews already scheduled are allowed to proceed.

This latest move by the Trump administration could deter international students from studying at universities in the United States. Recall that the administration has revoked scores of student visas after it moved to stop foreign students from studying at Harvard University. The move has been halted by a judge for the time being.

The government claimed it was tightening the screening process for international students over national security concerns. It also claimed that some students are involved in antisemitic campaigns or disrupting activities on campuses. “If you apply for a visa to be a student… and you tell us your goal is not just education but activism that disrupts campuses, we’re not going to give you a visa,” Marco Rubio said.

Subsequently, President Trump vowed to cancel federal contracts with the university, worth approximately $100 million, and threatened to divert billions in research grants away from elite institutions. After, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of two grants to Harvard University totalling over $2.7 million. The grants were part of federal funding initiatives aimed at various research and public health programmes

The DHS cited concerns over Harvard’s alleged failure to address antisemitism and its handling of campus protests as reasons for the cuts. Secretary Noem emphasised that with Harvard’s substantial endowment of $53.2 billion, the university could fund its initiatives without relying on taxpayer dollars.

He also threatened to revoke Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) if the university failed to comply with federal demands for information on international students involved in alleged illegal or violent activities.