The United States has resumed student visa processing for international applicants, but now requires all students to make their social media accounts public as part of a tougher screening process.
This new rule comes after the US government, under President Donald Trump, paused student visa appointments on May 28 to introduce stronger security checks. The US State Department says the new policy will help identify anyone showing signs of hatred or threats toward American people, culture, or government.
In a statement, a senior State Department official said, “It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day.”
The new policy affects F visas for university students, M visas for vocational students, and J visas for exchange programmes.
According to the department, students who keep their social media accounts private may be seen as trying to hide their activities. Visa officers have also been told to watch out for signs of support for terrorism, anti-Semitic violence, or threats to national security.
The stricter rules are part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on higher education in the United States, especially top universities. President Trump has accused some elite schools of being too left-leaning and not doing enough to stop anti-Semitic actions during pro-Palestinian protests on campuses.
Harvard University is one of the schools under pressure. The government froze over \$2.6 billion in federal grants to the institution and tried to stop it from enrolling international students. That move has been paused by a federal judge for now.
President Trump’s actions also include efforts to deport students or cancel their visas, but many of these moves have been blocked by US courts.
According to Open Doors, an education data group, over 1.1 million international students from more than 210 countries studied in US colleges during the 2023–24 school year. With the new visa conditions, the experience for future international students may become more challenging.
