Over the last few days, the Trump Administration has introduced changes to its student visa policies, prompting concerns within academic and international communities. On May 27, 2025, the US State Department issued a directive by Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructing embassies worldwide to pause the scheduling of new interviews for student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J categories). This measure is part of a broader review aimed at enhancing the screening and vetting processes for these applicants, including the implementation of expanded social media evaluations. Notably, individuals with already scheduled interviews are not affected by this pause.
Read moreDHS To Monitor Noncitizens’ Social Media for Antisemitism
On April 9, 2025, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it will begin to screen noncitizens’ social media posts for evidence of antisemitic activity and use the content as grounds for denying immigration benefits requests. The policy, which will go in effect immediately, will affect foreign nationals applying for permanent resident status, foreign students, and foreign nationals “affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.”
Read moreProPublica: “Extreme Digital Vetting of Visitors to the U.S. Moves Forward Under a New Name”
At a tech industry conference hosted by the Government Technology & Services Coalition last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) invited software providers to begin the process of creating algorithms that would monitor the social media accounts of visa holders deemed to be a high risk in order to assess potential threats to the US. The agency announced that they would need tools equipped with “risk-based matrices” that would continue social media surveillance throughout these visa holders’ stay in the US so that ICE may predict any threats. These requests are the first clear plans showing ICE’s intent to augment tougher visa vetting with the monitoring of social media through a program now named “Visa Lifecycle Vetting.”
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