State Department Halts Foreign Student Visa Interviews

Secretary of State Marco RubioThe Associated Press (AP) reports that the U.S. State Department has stopped scheduling visa interviews for foreign students wishing to study in the U.S. while it seeks to expand social media screening of student visa applicants. According to the AP, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said yesterday that “the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who had previously scheduled interviews.”

According to the AP, a cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the Trump Administration plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting.

This action by the Trump Administration is the “latest in the Trump administration’s crackdown on international students.” Last week, the Trump Administration revoked Harvard University's authorization to enroll foreign students, though an order issued by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from terminating Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which allows Harvard to enroll foreign students.

The AP noted that this spring, the Trump Administration revoked the legal status of thousands of international students but the Trump Administration has reversed course following a number of successful legal challenges by international students.

Recently, following six weeks in federal detention, Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk was released following a federal judge's ruling that her continued detention potentially violated her constitutional rights. Additionally, a federal judge in Vermont ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was arrested at his U.S. citizenship interview and ordered deported prior to being released from custody.