An hour before being blocked, State tells consulates to reject Harvard visas

Washington Post

a day ago

The State Department on Thursday told consulates around the world to reject visa applications for students planning to attend Harvard University, less than an hour before a judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing that policy.
The directive says that consular officers should not cancel visa appointments for those affected and should assess whether an applicant is otherwise eligible for admittance to the United States, according to a copy viewed by The Washington Post. But those who seek to 'begin a course of study at Harvard University or participate in an exchange visitor program at Harvard University' should be rejected, the directive says.
It says that the department will not provide refunds of visa application fees to those affected 'as the applicant is still permitted to interview.'
The cable came after the Trump administration's second attempt to block visas for foreign students who plan to study at Harvard.
On May 22, the Department of Homeland Security said it would bar Harvard from participating in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which allows universities to enroll foreign students, alleging that Harvard allowed 'anti-American, pro-terrorist' foreigners 'to harass and physically assault individuals … and obstruct its once-venerable learning environment.'
That move was blocked by a federal court.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation barring admission to the United States for students intending to study at Harvard. In court documents, Harvard called the move a patent end run around the judge's order. Just before 7 p.m. on Thursday, the university asked the court to block Trump's proclamation, filing a motion for a temporary restraining order.
It was granted about three hours later, at 9:54 p.m., but not before the State Department sent its directive.
The message to consulates was sent at 8:59 p.m. Thursday.
The State Department declined to comment, and it was unclear whether the agency planned to modify or rescind its guidance in light of the court's order. As of late afternoon Friday, they had not, according to one State employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The memo said that a new code was being created to indicate the reason for rejection: 'HRVD.'
The rules apply to those who have already been approved and whose visas have already been printed but not yet passed back to the applicant, the cable says. Officers are to cancel the visa in those cases, it adds.
The State employee said that until Trump's changes, the process for obtaining student visa approval was largely straightforward. Applicants who could prove they were accepted to college, could pay the tuition — and also proved they didn't plan to stay or work in the U.S. post-graduation — had a good chance of winning approval in almost all cases.
'Now it's a flat denial to Harvard and only Harvard,' the employee said.
The employee also noted that the instructions sent by cable seem to require state staff to accept Harvard admits' interviews and money, and then deny them anyway.