Social Media Verification Now Required to Get a US Student Visa

The U.S. State Department said on June 18 that it was resuming the process of issuing student visas to foreign nationals after it had been suspended. However, all applicants will now be required to open their social media accounts for government verification, according to Associated Press.

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The department said consular officers will monitor posts and communications that could be considered hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or founding principles.

In a notice issued June 18, the State Department said it had lifted a suspension of student visa processing that had been in place since May, but new applicants who refuse to make their social media accounts public and available for verification may be denied a visa. The department explained that failure to provide access could be viewed as an attempt to evade requirements or hide online activity.

On the subject: Trump Administration Strips Harvard of Right to Educate International Students

The Trump administration last month temporarily suspended student visa appointments for foreigners seeking to study in the United States pending expanded scrutiny of their social media activity, officials said.

Students around the world have been anxiously awaiting the opening of appointments at U.S. consulates as time to arrange travel and housing arrangements dwindles before the start of the school year.

On June 18, a 27-year-old graduate student from Toronto was able to schedule a visa interview for next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the United States for a research fellowship scheduled to begin in late July.

"It's a big relief," said the student, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Chen, for fear of being targeted. "I've been refreshing the site several times a day."

Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines posted on social media that they were closely monitoring visa interview scheduling sites and State Department press briefings for any sign that the process would resume.

In resuming visa issuance, the State Department has instructed consulates to give priority to students who plan to attend colleges where international students make up less than 15% of the total student body, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information has not been officially released.

International students make up more than 15% of the total enrollment at nearly 200 U.S. universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data for the 2023 class. Those are mostly private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. But the list also includes 26 public universities, including the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania. Looking at undergraduates alone, the share of international students exceeds 15% at about 100 universities, nearly all of them private.

International students in the U.S. are facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. This spring, the Trump administration revoked the U.S. study permits of thousands of students, even those with traffic violations, before suddenly reversing their decision. It also expanded the grounds for revoking the legal status of international students.

As part of a pressure campaign against Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block international students from attending the school, which relies heavily on tuition for international students, who make up a quarter of the student body. Trump has said that Harvard’s share of international students should be capped at 15%.

As the State Department explained on June 18, this new measure to screen students' social media "ensures that we are properly vetting every person attempting to visit our country."

In an internal instruction to consular officers, the department stressed that they should be on the lookout for "any indication of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States."

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Jamil Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy was reminiscent of the Cold War-era ideological screening that barred prominent artists and intellectuals from entering the United States.

"This policy turns every consular officer into a censor and will inevitably lead to the suppression of legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States," Jaffer concluded.

The Trump administration also asked 36 countries to take steps to improve traveler screening procedures or face a ban on their citizens entering the U.S. A diplomatic note sent by the State Department said the countries have 60 days to comply with the U.S. demands or risk being added to a list of countries banned from entry that now includes 12.

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