In yet another twist for foreign students hoping to study in the US, the State Department says it will resume processing visa applications for students and visiting academics from foreign nationals, but plans to review their social media accounts as part of the process.
All students applying for a visa will need to set their social media profiles to “public,” according to a Wednesday (18) post on the State Department website, stating that the additional screening is part of the vetting process to exclude applicants who “pose a threat to US national security.”
The State Department said that failure to allow access to social profiles may be grounds for rejection, and that consular officers have been instructed to look for any indication of “hostility” toward the US or its people, although it did not provide further details on what exactly that might mean.
The announcement comes after the department had previously suspended all interviews for student visa applications in May, noting at the time that it was temporary to prepare this new social media vetting procedure.
This new policy is the latest in an emotional rollercoaster for foreign students anxiously awaiting visa interview appointments and more information, amid the Trump administration’s assault on universities, immigration, and travel.
Earlier in May, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, removing the school from the program that allows schools to sponsor foreign students for visas. That effort was quickly challenged in court and is currently blocked by a federal judge.
More than one million international students are currently enrolled in American colleges and universities, according to the State Department, contributing more than $40 billion to the country’s economy each year. But the Trump administration’s actions have already had a significant chilling effect. Initial data from educational application portals show that the number of prospective students seeking US universities has already dropped sharply since January.
Fewer international students coming to the US to study could create big problems for the many schools that rely on these students for tuition, as well as social, cultural, and academic contributions.
Source: npr.org By Kat Lonsdorf