U.S. Halt Student Visa Appointments

The Trump administration has directed U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide to temporarily halt the scheduling of new student and exchange visitor visa appointments. This decision comes as the State Department prepares to implement expanded social media vetting for all applicants seeking F, M, and J visas.

In a directive issued via diplomatic cable and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. missions were instructed to suspend the appointments of new visa interview appointments and remove unfilled slots from their schedules. Already scheduled appointments, however, will proceed as planned. The directive states that this pause will remain in effect “until further guidance is issued” in the coming days.

The expansion of social media screening marks a significant shift in the vetting process for international students and is expected to impact the operations, workloads, and resource allocations of consular sections globally. The new measures are part of the administration's broader efforts to increase scrutiny of foreign nationals entering the U.S., with stated objectives of combating terrorism and addressing antisemitism.

Although the specifics of the forthcoming screening criteria remain unclear, the move follows earlier social media screening policies aimed at students involved in political activism, particularly those critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The administration has also cited concerns over student participation in campus protests as a potential basis for increased vetting.

This development is part of a broader crackdown on higher education institutions, particularly elite universities, which the administration accuses of harboring antisemitism and promoting left-wing ideologies. The pause in visa processing could have considerable implications for universities across the U.S., many of which depend heavily on the tuition and presence of international students. China, whose nationals make up a significant portion of the international student population in the U.S., has formally called on the U.S. to safeguard the rights of foreign students.

The State Department has indicated that its immediate priorities during this period will shift toward serving U.S. citizens, processing immigrant visas, and fraud prevention.