


The State Department said Wednesday it will require social media screening of foreign students applying for visas as part of its newly restarted visa process.
The department said consular officers will look out for hostile social media posts aimed at the United States or its interests. All applicants will now be required to unlock their social media profiles for public viewing or risk their application being rejected.
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The Trump administration halted issuing new visas for foreign students last month as it considered whether to screen the activity of visa applicants on social media.
“Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,” the department said in a statement.
“To facilitate this vetting,” applicants “will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to ‘public,’” it said. “The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.”
Foreign students have been awaiting action from the U.S. regarding visas and have closely watched news surrounding the State Department for clues on when they could obtain a visa. They’ve also been awaiting appointments for visa interviews.
In a cable reviewed by Politico, consular officers are directed to review applicants’ online presence for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.”
The cable also instructs embassies to flag any “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.”
Support for Hamas is cited as a specific example.
The U.S. has sought out students it feels sympathize with Hamas and has taken action such as detainment against them in the past, including against Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visas of Chinese students would be “aggressively” revoked.
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“Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” he said in a statement.
Rubio also said all future visa applications from China or Hong Kong would be subject to increased scrutiny.