Faith Nyasuguta
The U.S. government has resumed student visa processing after a temporary suspension – but with a major new condition. Foreign students applying for visas must now grant U.S. consular officers access to their social media accounts, allowing American authorities to scrutinize online posts for any signs of hostility toward the United States, its institutions, or values.
In a statement released this week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the visa process had officially restarted. However, the notice made it clear that students who fail to set their social media profiles to public – or who refuse access entirely – risk having their visa applications denied. Officials warned that reluctance to comply may be interpreted as an attempt to hide something.
The move follows a month-long freeze under the Trump administration, which halted new visa interviews as it worked to tighten vetting procedures for foreign students. Now, the government says the additional screening step is meant to ensure that all visitors are “properly vetted” before entering the country.
Consular officers have been instructed to flag any applicant who shows “hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States,” according to internal guidance obtained by journalists. In practice, this means that posts, comments, or shares on platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok could be reviewed as part of the decision-making process.
The announcement has created both relief and concern among international students. Many had been anxiously refreshing embassy websites in hopes of securing a visa appointment as the academic year approaches. One such student is a 27-year-old Chinese Ph.D. candidate based in Toronto, identified only as Chen, who was finally able to book a U.S. visa interview next week. “I’m really relieved,” he said. “I’ve been refreshing the website a couple of times every day.”
Students from across the globe – including China, India, the Philippines, and Mexico – have been closely monitoring State Department press briefings and appointment portals. The suspension of interviews left many in limbo as they struggled to make travel and housing arrangements ahead of the fall semester.
In a less-publicized update, the department is also prioritizing applications from students planning to enroll in institutions where international students make up less than 15% of the total student body. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, revealed this directive was included in recent internal guidance.
This new threshold could create complications for students targeting top-tier universities. According to a 2023 federal education analysis, more than 200 U.S. universities – many of them private – have foreign student populations exceeding 15%. This includes all eight Ivy League schools, the University of Illinois and Pennsylvania State University.
The broader climate for international students in the U.S. has grown more restrictive under the Trump administration. Earlier this year, thousands of students lost their legal status – some for minor infractions such as traffic violations – before that policy was abruptly reversed. The administration has also been pushing for increased vetting from 36 countries, warning that failure to comply could result in their citizens being added to the U.S. travel ban list, which currently includes 12 countries.
One of the most controversial elements of the new visa policy is the requirement to vet students’ online speech. Civil rights advocates warn this could amount to ideological filtering reminiscent of the Cold War. Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said, “This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States.”
He added that it echoes a time when prominent artists, writers, and thinkers were barred from entering the U.S. based on their views.
The Trump administration has even targeted specific institutions, such as Harvard University, pressing it to reduce international enrollment to below 15%. Foreign students currently represent about a quarter of Harvard’s student body.
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