In yet another twist for foreign students wishing to study in the U.S., the State Department says it will resume processing student visa and visiting researcher visa applications for 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 post published on Wednesday (18) on the State Department’s website, stating that the additional screening is part of the selection process to exclude applicants who “pose a threat to U.S. national security.”
The State Department stated that denying access to social media profiles could be grounds for rejection and that consular officers have been instructed to look for any indication of “hostility” toward the U.S. or its people, although it did not provide further details on what exactly that might mean.
The announcement comes after the department suspended all student visa interviews in May, noting at the time that it was temporary to prepare for this new social media screening procedure.
This new policy is the latest in an emotional rollercoaster for foreign students anxiously awaiting visa interviews and more information, amid the Trump administration’s attacks on universities, immigration, and travel.
In early May, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s permission to enroll international students, removing the school from the program that allows schools to sponsor foreign students for visas. This initiative was quickly challenged in court and is currently blocked by a federal judge.
More than one million international students are currently enrolled in U.S. 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 measures have already had a significant impact. Initial data from higher education enrollment portals show that the number of prospective students seeking U.S. universities has already dropped dramatically since January.
Fewer international students coming to the U.S. to study could create major problems for the many schools that rely on these students for tuition, as well as for social, cultural, and academic contributions.
Source: npr.org By Kat Lonsdorf