US freezes student visa interviews amid vetting overhaul

A State Department cable instructed US embassies worldwide to pause new student visa appointments while expanding social media screening.

By World Israel News Staff

The US administration is temporarily suspending interviews for student visas worldwide, as the vetting process for issuing the visas is revamped and expanded, according to new reports.

“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” read an internal State Department communication signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Washington newspaper The Hill reported.

“The department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor visa applicants,” the cable continued.

The State Department refused to confirm or deny the validity of the message, but a spokeswoman emphasized that the US is utilizing numerous resources to thoroughly vet students who wish to study in the US.

“We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press conference on Tuesday.

A White House official, speaking anonymously, told NewsNation cable news network that US embassies worldwide were ordered to temporarily freeze new appointments for student visas, until the new vetting system is in place.

The move comes amid an overhaul of the student visa issuance system, following mass protests on college campuses that included foreign nationals.

“Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security,” Rubio said in March.

“The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Rubio’s remarks, saying in March that “if you’re on a student visa, and you’re in America, and you’re an aspiring young terrorist who wants to prey upon your Jewish classmates, you’re going home.”