In an unprecedented and disheartening move, the US has ordered the suspension of student and exchange visitor visa (including F, M, and J visas) processing as the administration ramps up its social media vetting process, according to a diplomatic cable, first reported by Politico, issued by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Issued under the guise of concern for the national security threat that international students pose to the US, the US Department of State's anticipated expansion of its vetting process is guaranteed to have significant implications for Embassy and Consular operations, as well as US universities that heavily rely on international students for tuition and the economic vitality of their community.
A recent study found that the US hosts more than 1.1 million international students, accounting for 6% of the total US post-secondary education population and contributing more than $50 billion to the US economy in 2023 alone.
Proposed Amendments: Could This Affect You?
In the diplomatic cable, Secretary Rubio ordered US Embassies and Consulates to pause scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants until the administration can develop a new process for vetting the social media profiles of applicants for student visas.
At the moment, this order does not impact individuals who have already booked their interviews. Their appointments are being allowed to proceed as normal and potential students are to be considered and assessed using current guidelines. However, until new social media evaluation protocols are finalized, no new interviews or appointments are to be booked.
So, What Do You Need to Know?
Those who have previously applied for immigrant and nonimmigrant visa will have noticed that as part of their application, they are required to complete an online visa application. The online visa application requires that applicants disclose and provide any social media identifiers they have used in the last five years (among other personal history and biographic information), regardless of their frequency of use.
While no announcement has been made as to the new protocols, evaluation standards or when the new protocols can be expected to be finalized, the expansion of this vetting process is likely to slow down the overall student visa issuance process severely. This could create a significant backlog, not just for student visa processing but for all consular-processed applications.
Given that many students are expected to return to classrooms in the next couple of months and are now beginning the application process, the urgency for issuing new protocols is paramount.
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