U.S. will review social media for foreign student visa applications
10 months ago
- #visa_policy
- #education
- #immigration
- U.S. State Department resumes processing student and visiting scholar visa applications for foreign citizens.
- Social media accounts of applicants will be reviewed as part of the visa process.
- Applicants must set their social media profiles to 'public' for additional screening.
- Failure to allow access to social media profiles could result in visa rejection.
- Consular officers will look for signs of 'hostility' toward the U.S. or its people.
- Student visa interviews were temporarily suspended in May to prepare for the new social media vetting procedure.
- Trump administration previously revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, but the decision is currently blocked by a federal judge.
- Over a million international students contribute more than $40 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
- Early data shows a sharp decline in prospective international students searching for U.S. universities since January.
- Fewer international students could negatively impact tuition revenue and academic contributions at U.S. schools.