Donald Trump targets overseas students: US president halts new visa appointments, plans to expand social media 'vetting'

Amid the ongoing Harvard University row, now the Donald Trump administration in the United States has directed its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants.

Since the State Department plans to expand the social media vetting for foreign students, this step has been taken by the State Department. According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that the updated guidance on social media vetting will be issued after a review is completed.

As per the US Secretary's advice, the consular sections are to stop scheduling new visa appointments for students and exchange visitors; however, the already planned appointments may proceed under the current guidelines.

The Trump administration is considering mandatory social media vetting for all foreign students applying to study in the U.S.

A cable dated Tuesday, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, instructs U.S. embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for¡­ pic.twitter.com/UvA5vjLC4G

¡ª Vanguard Intel Group ? (@vanguardintel) May 27, 2025

Why has Donald Trump stopped scheduling new appointments for foreign students?

The previous week on Thursday, the Trump administration cancelled Harvard University's ability to enrol international students, and the step has left thousands of foreign students, including Indian students, in a state of complete uncertainty.

Following this, the latest move of halting the new appointments for the foreign students is a part of the administration's wider efforts to boost deportations and revoke student visas, aligning with its strict immigration policies.

Credit: X | Credit: @NoLieWithBTC

The move has left several hundred protestors, including Harvard students and professors, demonstrating in support of the foreign students. On the other hand, a senior State Department official confirmed the accuracy of the move, and spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the US will use all available tools to vet entrants.

"We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here, whether they are students or otherwise," Bruce told reporters at a news briefing.

Increasing scrutiny of social media activity, impact on students

The move to pause new student visa interviews is part of the plans to mandate all foreign students seeking to study in the US to undergo vetting of their social media activity, Politico reported.

JUST IN: Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the US to undergo social media vetting and is ordering US embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such applicants ¡ª Politico pic.twitter.com/x9n3q9r0fN

¡ª Julia ?? (@Jules31415) May 27, 2025

As per the report, the move could severely impact student visa processing and may hurt many US universities that heavily rely on foreign student admissions to stay financially active. Apart from this, Trump's administration had imposed social media screening requirements for the students who were believed to have participated in the protests against Israel's military activities in Gaza.

As previously announced in April, the federal government will monitor the social media behaviour of both visa applicants and immigrants to see whether they take part in what they refer to as "antisemitic activity."

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