United States resumes foreign students' visa process but only if they unlock social media

South China Morning Post

19-06-2025

The United States will restart its student visa application process for foreigners, but all applicants will now be required to make their social media accounts public for government review, the State Department said Wednesday.
Consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles, the department said.
In a notice made public on Wednesday, the department confirmed it had revoked its May suspension of student visa processing.
However, it said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. A refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity, the department said.
June 2025: Trump suspends new Chinese and other foreign student visas at Harvard
The Trump administration temporarily halted scheduling new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US last month while preparing to expand the screening of their social media activity, officials said.
Students around the world had been anxiously waiting for US consulates to reopen visa interview appointments as the window to book their travels and make housing arrangements narrowed ahead of the start of the school year.
On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old PhD student in Toronto secured an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hoped to travel to the United States for a research internship that would begin in late July.
Graduating students attend Columbia University's commencement ceremony. Foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the total student body at nearly 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press report. Photo: Reuters
'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 a couple of times every day.'
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 State Department press briefings to get any indication of when appointment scheduling might resume.
In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritise students hoping to enrol at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15 per cent of the student body, a US official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made public.
May 2025: Trump administration removes Harvard's ability to enrol international students
Foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the total student body at nearly 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023.
Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. But that criterion also includes 26 public universities, including the University of Illinois and Pennsylvania State University. Looking only at undergraduate students, foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the population at about 100 universities, almost all of them private.
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 offences, before abruptly reversing course.
The government also expanded the grounds on which the legal status of foreign students can be terminated.
More than 1,000 international students in the US have had their visas or legal status revoked
As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school. International students account for a quarter of the university's enrolment, which relies on the group's tuition dollars.
Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrolment at 15 per cent.
This latest move to vet students' social media, the State Department said Wednesday, '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'.
Trump has signed a proclamation banning individuals from 12 countries from entering the US, reinstating one of the most controversial measures from his first term. via AFP
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the United States.
'This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States,' Jaffer said.
Trump signs US travel ban targeting 12 nations while limiting entry for 7 others
The Trump administration has also called on 36 countries to commit to improving the vetting of travellers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department said the countries have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.