KLIK SAJA - The U.S. Department of State has announced the resumption of visa appointment scheduling for international students.
However, all applicants will now be required to make their social media accounts accessible as part of stricter background screening measures.
Immigration officials have been instructed to expand social media vetting to identify “any signs of hostility toward U.S. citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
Previously, the Trump administration suspended student visa appointments in late May to prepare for new regulations aimed at tightening entry for those deemed potential threats to national security.
The new policy will affect all applicants for F visas, commonly used by international students.
In addition, M visas for vocational students and J visas for exchange programs will also fall under the revised screening procedures, according to a State Department spokesperson.
The department warned that applicants who keep their social media accounts private may be viewed as attempting to hide online activity.
“It is the expectation of American citizens that their government takes all necessary steps to ensure national safety—and that’s exactly what the Trump administration is doing every single day,” said a senior State Department official.
Immigration officers are also instructed to screen for individuals who “advocate for, assist, or are affiliated with designated foreign terrorist organizations, or who engage in unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.”
This policy is part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on elite universities in the U.S., which the president has criticized as being too liberal. He has accused these institutions of failing to address antisemitism amid pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses.
Many have voiced concerns that requiring students to disclose social media access is a violation of privacy rights.
Critics argue the move places unfair scrutiny on international students who are already subject to rigorous visa processes.
The crackdown has included freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to universities and attempting to deport students or revoke their visas.
However, several of these measures have been overturned by federal courts.
