US resumes visas for foreign students but demands access to social media accounts
The Trump administration also singled out Harvard University for additional screening for visas last month, describing it as a pilot program for wider measures. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15 percent.
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In a notice made public Wednesday, the State Department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
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Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for US consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year.
On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the US for a research intern position that would start in late July. 'I'm really relieved,' said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. 'I've been refreshing the website couple of times every day.'
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Students from China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume.
'Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,' the department said in a statement.
'To facilitate this vetting' applicants 'will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public,'' it said. 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.'
In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.'
International students in the US have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the US for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated.
As justification for the expanded vetting, the cable cited two recent executive orders from President Trump, one focused on preventing hostile foreign actors from entering the country and one intended to combat antisemitism.
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The cable also said it is important to protect American institutions of higher education from those who would 'steal technical information, exploit US research and development, and spread false information for political or other reasons.'
The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
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