By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Revealed: 28 Might 2025 • 12:13
• 2 minutes learn
The a million overseas college students within the US contribute practically $44 billion to the nation’s financial system | Credit: Kuwait Instances
The Donald Trump administration has ordered all its embassies worldwide to instantly cease scheduling scholar visa appointments because it prepares to develop social media vetting of all overseas college students.
The Trump directions additionally ordered all US consulates to halt including extra scholar or trade customer visa appointment capability till additional steering is issued.
The directive may severely delay visa processing and have an effect on universities that depend on overseas college students for income.
In a diplomatic message to all embassies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced that social media vetting could be considerably elevated for scholar and overseas trade visas. The brand new course of may have vital implications for embassies and consulates, which will likely be overwhelmed by the elevated vetting necessities.
‘Far-left ideologies allow antisemitism’
The order comes amid Trump’s fierce feud with a few of the United States’ most elite faculties, together with, extra notably, Harvard College, all of which he accuses of getting far-left ideologies that, in some circumstances, have enabled antisemitism on campus.
A BBC report acknowledged that the memo instructed US embassies to take away any unfilled appointments from their calendars for college kids in search of visas. Nevertheless, it famous that these with already scheduled appointments may proceed.
The memo additionally acknowledged that the State Division was getting ready to introduce an growth of social media screening and vetting for all college students in search of to attend US universities.
“The division is conducting a assessment of current operations and processes for screening and vetting of scholar and trade customer visa candidates,” the cable reads, in keeping with The Guardian report. Officers plan to subject steering on “expanded social media vetting for all such candidates”.
Looking for proof of terrorist assist
In response to a special cable obtained by The Guardian, “since March, consular officers have been required to conduct necessary social media evaluations on the lookout for proof of assist for ‘terrorist exercise or a terrorist organisation’ which might be as broad as displaying assist for the Palestinian trigger.”
The directive requires consulate officers to take screenshots of “probably derogatory” content material for everlasting data, in case it’s deleted later.
In a Senate Listening to Committee coated by Forbes, Rubio mentioned, “his division has revoked visas numbering in all probability within the 1000’s at this level. I don’t know the most recent depend, however we in all probability have extra to do.”
In response to a Nationwide Affiliation of Overseas Pupil Advisers (NAFSA) assertion, there are a couple of million overseas college students in the USA, contributing practically $43.8 billion to the US financial system and supporting over 378,000 jobs from 2023 to 2024.