Suspension of student visa interviews will be brief, indicates US State Dept

The US has paused global student visa interviews for social media vetting, but the State Department says the suspension will be brief and urges students to keep checking for appointments

   

 

The US State Department has indicated that the current global suspension of student visa processing will likely be short, as the government intensifies its screening of applicants’ social media profiles. Speaking to reporters on Friday, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce sought to reassure prospective students, advising them to continue seeking visa appointments despite the delays.

 

“I would not be recommending that if this was going to be weeks or months,” Bruce said. “I can tell you that it’s something that would happen perhaps sooner than later.”

 

Bruce urged applicants to regularly monitor online platforms for updates. “Right now there might be some delay, and what I’m told to encourage people to do is to regularly check to see when those spaces open,” she added.

 

Why has the US paused student visa interviews globally?

 

On May 27, President Donald Trump’s administration asked consular missions across the world to pause new student visa interviews as part of plans to mandate all foreign students seeking to study in the US to undergo vetting of their social media activity.

 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a cable asking US embassies all over the world to pause new visa interviews for foreign students. Rubio has also revoked visas for a large number of students who led demonstrations critical of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, using an obscure law that allows the removal of people deemed to go against US foreign policy interests.

 

Part of broader Trump crackdown on international students

 

It is one of a series of battles waged over education by Trump’s administration, which has rescinded thousands of visas, sought to ban Harvard University from accepting any international students, and vowed to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.

 

New screening to focus on social media activity

 

The Trump administration had imposed social media screening requirements for students who were believed to have participated in protests against Israel’s military action in Gaza.

 

The federal government also said in April that it will screen the social media activity of immigrants and visa applicants for what it called “antisemitic activity.”

 

India urges US to issue student visas on merit

 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has urged the US to ensure timely issuance of student visas based on merit. “We are looking at the situation. A visa is a sovereign right of a country. We would like to urge the US to give visas in time for students on merit,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. India, which sent nearly 330,000 students to the US in the 2023–24 academic year, stands to be particularly affected.