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Washington. – The administration of President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. embassies worldwide to suspend the scheduling of interviews for foreign student visas, as it prepares to implement a more thorough review of applicants' social media.
The measure was communicated via a State Department cable, which instructs consular sections to halt any expansion of appointment capacity for the F categories (academic students), M (vocational students) and J (exchange visitors).
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“The Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for the evaluation and background verification of student and exchange visitor visa applicants,” states the document, which also adds that as part of this review, a social media analysis will be executed, which would encompass all applicants in these categories.This decision represents an escalation in existing security procedures, which in recent weeks have focused particularly on students linked to pro-Palestinian protests on US university campuses.
Advocacy organizations for immigrants' rights and international education have warned that this measure could have a deterrent effect on foreign students, in addition to deepening concerns about privacy and political discrimination in immigration processes.
