Trump administration stops student visa appointments before 'expanding social media censorship'
The State Department has ordered the U.S. embassy to temporarily stop arranging new student visa appointments as the Trump administration is committed to expanding social media screening for applicants, a series of restrictions on international students.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed diplomatic posts not to add any dates to students and forex visas to prepare for an expanded review and to remove any undeserved dates from the calendar. If the student has arranged a visa interview, he can still move on.
The pause will continue until the next few days “until further guidance is issued.”
According to the cable, the State Council is preparing for “expanding the required social media screening and review” and all student visa applicants can undergo social media checks. The cable said this additional screening would have a “significant impact” on the actions of the embassy and consuls and suspend necessary new appointments.
A senior State Department official confirmed the cable's accuracy for CBS news.
The memorandum was first reported by Politico.
“We have a very serious review of people entering the country and we will continue to do that,” State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday.
State Department officials said Wednesday that arrangements for non-immigrant visa interview appointments were “dynamic” despite the department's lack of comments on internal communications. The capacity of an embassy or consulate reflects the time it takes for consular officials to fully comply with U.S. law, the official said, including ensuring that applicants do not pose a safety or security risk to the United States.
“Every visa ruling is a national security decision,” State Department officials said, adding that every potential traveler heading to the United States has undergone an inter-agency security review. “Those who may pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety are prohibited from entering the U.S., which is the key to protecting U.S. citizens at home.”
International students who want to study in the United States are usually required to schedule interviews at the U.S. embassy or consulate, usually in their home country, as part of the visa application process. Waiting times vary widely: Most embassies, student visa interview appointments can be booked for less than two months, although some diplomatic positions have longer waiting times.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security said it would screen some visa applicants, including those seeking student visas, to “anti-Semitic activities on social media and physical harassment of Jews.”
Screenings are part of a wider control measure for international students, some of whom meet the impetus of the court system.
Last week, DHS Tell Harvard University It can no longer recruit international students, fighting for months between the government and the Ivy League schools. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the government “puts Harvard to promote violence, anti-Semitism and coordination with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” but Harvard said the move was illegal. Judge Stopped the policy quickly.
The government is trying to expel a few students based on their pro-Palestinian activism – some of whom have green cards, including Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia University, some of which allow laws to revoke their visas if they constitute “adverse foreign policy consequences.” Lawyers believe that the revocation of these visas violates students' First Amendment rights, although the government says it has the right to do so. Some students, including Mahdawi, have been released on bail.
Lawyer says Trump administration Try to end Legal status For thousands of other international students, many of them seem to be targeted Secondary legal violations. Federal judges have Stopped this effort.
Camilla Schick and
Contributed to this report.
