New State Dept Measures Unveiled: How Foreign Students Will Be Screened For U.S. Entry

The State Department will resume granting student visas, but with heightened social media protocols to monitor possible support for terrorism or “a history of political activism” associated with violence or anti-American views. 

The department announced Wednesday that it would soon start scheduling student visa application interviews after all new applications were frozen last month. Potential exchange students will be asked to make their social media profiles public to allow for vetting. 

“We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security,” the department said. “Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants.”

The Trump administration has expressed concern about foreign students who have engaged in disruptive anti-Israel protests at campuses across the country, as well as Chinese students connected to the Chinese Communist Party. 

“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the State Department said. “The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”

A cable to American diplomats obtained by POLITICO revealed that they were instructed to search the social media accounts of students for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States,” “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.”

One specific terrorist group they were urged to watch out for was Hamas.

The diplomats were also told to determine if “applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism” associated with violence and asked to “consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States.”

The cable added that the diplomats should “take screenshots to preserve the record against possible later alteration or loss of the information.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States does not want to import anti-American activists to disrupt and undermine the education system.

The resumption of student visa application interviews comes after President Donald Trump announced last week that the United States would continue to allow Chinese students into the country as part of a trade deal. That came after Rubio said that he would aggressively revoke the student visas of Chinese students, especially those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.