US resumes student visas with mandatory social media screening

Washington: The US Department of State has announced that it will resume processing of the visa applications for foreign students with a condition that requires applicants to make their social media accounts public for government review.

“Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications. To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public,'” read the statement issued by the US Department of State on Wednesday.

According to the State Department, it is committed to protecting America and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through the visa process, adding that a US visa is a “privilege, not a right”.

“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 US national security,” it stated

The US State Department asserted that every visa adjudication is a national security decision.

“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,” the statement added.

Last month, the US indicated that the pause on student visa interviews would end “sooner than later” and encouraged applicants to continue the application process while frequently checking for the resumption of regular services.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US missions around the world to pause student visa interviews to incorporate expanded scrutiny of the social media footprints of applicants.

The Trump administration has expanded scrutiny of foreign students in US colleges and universities in the wake of political unrest that swept through campuses against the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The administration has targeted college authorities for not doing enough to prevent and protect Jewish students and foreign students from participating in them.

IANS