Latest news with #socialMediaVetting
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting
WASHINGTON — The State Department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while it prepares to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. A U.S. official said Tuesday the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who had previously scheduled interviews. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration document. A cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press says the State Department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting. 'Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity' until the guidance is issued, the cable says. Asked about the suspension at a briefing Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. uses every available resource to vet people applying for visas. 'We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,' Bruce said. The move, first reported by Politico, is the latest in the Trump administration's crackdown on international students . Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students , removing it from the program that allows schools to sponsor foreign students for visas. That effort was quickly challenged in court and blocked by a federal judge. This spring the administration also revoked the legal status of thousands of international students already in the country, leading some to leave the country out of fear of deportation. After many students filed successful legal challenges, the administration said it was restoring the students' status, but the government also expanded the grounds for terminating international students' legal status. President Donald Trump's previous administration stepped up reviews of all visa applicants, introducing reviews of their social media accounts. The policy remained during the Biden administration. An extended pause in scheduling student visas could lead to delays that may disrupt students' plans to enroll in summer and fall terms. A downturn in enrollment of international students could hurt university budgets, as some institutions shifted to enrolling more international students who pay full tuition to make up for funding shortfalls. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
US halts student visa appointments and plans expanded social media vetting
The Trump administration has ordered US embassies to stop scheduling appointments for students visa and to expand social media vetting of foreigners applying to study at American a copy of a memo sent to diplomatic posts, and viewed by the BBC's US partner CBS News, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the pause in student visa appointments would last "until further guidance is issued".Rubio's message said the temporary pause was in preparation for expanded social media vetting on student and foreign exchange visas, which would have "significant implications" for embassies and administration has in recent months taken steps to revoke a number of visas for pro-Palestinian activist students, as part of what the White House has described as an effort to combat antisemitism on campuses. The state department memo directed US embassies on Tuesday to remove any unfilled appointments from their calendars for students seeking visas, but said those with appointments already scheduled could go message also said the state department was preparing for an "expansion of required social media screening and vetting" applicable to all student visa administration seeks to pull estimated $100m in Harvard fundingForeign students who want to study in the US are usually required to schedule interviews at an American embassy in their home country before asked about student visas, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday: "We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country, and we're going to continue to do that."The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities and moved to deport several students, while revoking thousands of visas for others. Many of these actions have been blocked by the White House has accused some US universities of failing to protect Jewish students on have accused the Trump administration of trying to infringe upon universities' free speech University has been the focal point of President Donald Trump's ire. He also accuses it of flouting a Supreme Court ruling by engaging in discriminatory admissions week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students or host foreign researchers. A federal judge blocked the Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Harvard was handed the penalty for "fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus".
