Trump administration stops new student visa interviews

The Trump administration on Tuesday stopped scheduling new interviews for international students seeking visas to study in the United States as the State Department prepares for expanded social media screening of applicants, according to an internal cable seen by NBC News.

The directive was widely circulated to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts abroad and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Politico first reported the cable.

The move is the Trump administration’s latest strike on higher education in general and international students in particular as it cuts financial support to Harvard and arrests visa-holding students from abroad.

The State Department said it would issue further guidance to consulates and embassies in the coming days.

“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity,” the cable said.

The memo also warned of “potentially significant implications for consular section operations, processes, and resource allocations” in a clear indication of the delay likely for student visa applications.

“Consular sections will need to take into consideration the workload and resource requirements of each case prior to scheduling them going forward,” the cable said, adding the priority should be on “services for U.S. citizens, immigrant visas, and fraud prevention.”

It was unclear how the prospective students’ social media would be screened as part of the expanded vetting procedures. The public views and speech of international students have come under increased scrutiny during the Trump administration.

The visas of thousands of students at college campuses nationwide have been revoked in recent weeks by the Trump administration, which says it must protect U.S. citizens from immigrants who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten national security or espouse hateful ideology.

The future of foreign students at Harvard remains uncertain after the Trump administration banned their enrollment starting in the next school year.

“International students are not a threat.”said Fanta Aw, CEO of the Association of International Educators, adding that they comprise less than 6% of college enrollment in the United States.

“Today’s decision will have a significant impact on international student’s ability to arrive in the U.S. in time for their studies, if they aren’t already discouraged and choose to attend in another country,” Aw said.

Many universities nationwide have warned international students about traveling abroad this summer, fearing many will not be allowed to return.

The crackdown could also financially affect other universities with significant numbers of foreign students.

The State Department had already instructed U.S. diplomats and consular officers to refer certain student and exchange visitor visa applicants to its fraud prevention unit for mandatory social media checks under two executive orders known as Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats and Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.