US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting

U.S. officials accidental the State Department has halted the scheduling of caller visa interviews for overseas students hoping to survey successful the U.S. portion it prepares to grow the screening of their enactment connected societal media

WASHINGTON -- The State Department has halted the scheduling of caller visa interviews for foreign students hoping to survey successful the U.S. portion it prepares to grow the screening of their enactment connected societal media, officials said.

A U.S. authoritative said Tuesday the suspension is intended to beryllium impermanent and does not use to applicants who already had scheduled their visa interviews. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon an interior medication document.

A cablegram signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press says the State Department plans to contented guidance connected expanded societal media vetting.

“Effective immediately, successful mentation for an enlargement of required societal media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not adhd immoderate further pupil oregon speech visitant visa assignment capacity" until the guidance is issued, the cablegram says.

Asked astir the suspension astatine a briefing Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. uses each disposable assets to vet radical applying for visas.

“We volition proceed to usage each instrumentality we tin to measure who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students oregon otherwise,” Bruce said.

The move, archetypal reported by Politico, is the latest successful the Trump administration's crackdown connected international students.

Last week, the Trump medication revoked Harvard University’s quality to enroll planetary students, removing the assemblage from the programme that allows schools to sponsor overseas students for visas. That effort was rapidly challenged successful tribunal and for present is blocked by a national judge.

This outpouring the medication besides revoked the ineligible presumption of thousands of planetary students already successful the country, starring immoderate to permission the U.S. retired of fearfulness of deportation. After galore students filed palmy ineligible challenges, the medication said it was restoring the students’ ineligible status. But the authorities besides expanded the grounds for terminating planetary students' ineligible presumption going forward.

President Donald Trump’s erstwhile medication stepped up scrutiny of each visa applicants, introducing reviews of their societal media accounts. The argumentation remained during President Joe Biden's administration.

An extended intermission successful scheduling pupil visas could pb to delays that whitethorn disrupt college, boarding-school oregon speech students' plans to enroll successful summertime and autumn terms.

A downturn successful enrollment of planetary students could wounded assemblage budgets. To marque up for cuts successful federal probe funding, immoderate colleges shifted to enrolling much planetary students, who often wage afloat tuition.

___

The Associated Press’ acquisition sum receives fiscal enactment from aggregate backstage foundations. AP is solely liable for each content. Find AP’s standards for moving with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded sum areas astatine AP.org.

Sponsored Content by Taboola