The State Department has temporarily ordered U.S. embassies to stop scheduling new student visa appointments as it works to establish a new, thorough social media screening process for applicants.
In a cable obtained by Politico Tuesday, embassies were instructed to stop scheduling further visa appointments and interviews with hopeful applicants “until further guidance is issued.” The cable was dated Tuesday and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It further laid out that the State Department was preparing for an “expansion of required social media screening and vetting” which would have “significant implications” on day-to-day operations at embassies or consulates.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” the cable read, according to Politico. It noted that updates are anticipated to arrive within the “coming days.”
A State Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the department “does not comment on internal communications,” but that the Trump administration is “focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process. ”
“Since 2019, the Department of State has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms. We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting,” they added. “All visa applicants, no matter the visa type and where they are located, are continuously vetted.”
The Trump administration has notably been keeping a close eye on universities following the aftermath of student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza last year, and has threatened actions like the withdrawal of funding for campuses refusing to comply with—what it has described as—combative policies against antisemitism.
In an escalating war against Harvard University last week for example, the Department of Homeland Security told the institution that it could no longer enroll international students moving forward, claiming that it had failed to stamp out antisemitism on campus.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration is “holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” A judge has since blocked the policy.
A handful of students, some green card holders like Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil, have also been targeted for deportation by the administration for their pro-Palestinian activism. Lawyers have argued that the administration’s movements contest students’ First Amendment rights, with some subsequently being released on bail.
