US State Department orders embassies to pause student visa appointments as it considers expanding social media vetting

By Jennifer Hansler CNN The US State Department has instructed US embassies and consulates around the world to pause new apprentice visa appointments as it develops guidance to expand social media screening and vetting to all applicants for attendee visas according to a diplomatic cable seen by CNN Related Articles Elias Several California colleges could afford to stand up to Trump Trump s speech to West Point graduates mixes praise politics and grievances injured when tree falls during Diablo Valley College graduation ceremony China criticizes US ban on Harvard s international students These world leaders went to Harvard University before Trump s foreign pupil ban It s the latest move from the Trump administration that could deter international students from studying at universities in the United States The cable issued on Tuesday morning and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio comes as the Trump administration has revoked scores of scholar visas and after it moved to stop foreign students from studying at Harvard University a move that has been halted by a judge for the time being The cable states that the State Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of learner and exchange visitor F M J visa applicants and based on that review plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants The State Department had already called for social media vetting of several applicants largely related to alleged antisemitism However an expansion of the efforts could severely slow down the overall novice visa issuance process Politico was first to overview the news The cable notes that expanded social media screening and vetting of all the applicants for such visas could have potentially important implications for consular section operations processes and pool allocations As a effect the consular sections which issue visas will need to take into consideration the workload requirements of each development prior to scheduling them going forward It instructs embassies and consulates effective this instant not to add any additional scholar or exchange visa appointment quota until further guidance is issued and to remove appointments that are available but not taken as of the release of this cable Appointments that were already scheduled can still take place the cable notes Consular sections should remain focused on consular priorities including services for U S citizens immigrant visas and fraud prevention it states CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment The-CNN-Wire Cable News Architecture Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved