Opinion Pause on US student visa interviews: Why the lens is on social media

The pause on interviews will likely slow down student visa processing, and could impact American universities that are heavily reliant on international students for revenue.

The Trump administration has been cracking down on some of America’s most elite universities, including Harvard and Columbia. It has accused these institutions of allowing antisemitism on campus.

US student visas

The US offers three types of student visas — F-1, M-1, and J-1. An F-1 visa is required for international students to attend an academic institution such as a high school or college. An M-1 visa is for students in vocational or technical training programs at recognised schools. A J-1 visa is needed for exchange program students.

In the Financial Year 2024, the US issued 4,00,737 F-1, 6,322 M-1, and 3,22,820 J-1 visas, according to State Department data. In Financial Year 2023, 4,45,418 F-1, 6,052 M-1, and 3,16,693 J-1 visas were issued.

The number of international students in US institutions touched an all-time high of 1.13 million in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the annual Open Doors report, which provides comprehensive information on overseas students and scholars in the country – a 6.6% increase over the previous academic year.

India on top of list

According to the Open Doors report, 71.5% of international students who enrolled in the US between 2023 and 2024 were from Asia.
India was the biggest source – 3,31,602 students from India enrolled in US universities and colleges, an increase of 23% over the previous year.

China was in second position with 277,398 students, a 4% decline compared to the previous year, according to the report. South Korea, which sent 43,149 students to the US, was in third place.

Europe sent 90,600 students to the US, making up 8% of the overseas student population.

Social media vetting

The contents of the memo, as reported in the American media, do not mention why the administration wants to expand the scrutiny of visa applicants’ social media posts.

The State Department said on Tuesday that the pause was a part of the “dynamic” scheduling of interviews for such visas – and that visa timelines were based on what officers need for sufficient vetting in compliance with US law and “to ensure applicants do not pose a security or safety risk to the United States”.

However, the Trump administration has repeatedly spoken about cancelling student visas, scrapping permanent residency status (“green cards”) and scrutinising the social media history of foreign visitors in the context of backlash over Israel’s war in Gaza. (Protests against the war had swept several campuses last year.)

On May 20, Rubio said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “If you tell me that you’re coming to the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries, and try to burn down buildings…we’re not going to give you a visa.”
And last month, the Department of Homeland Security said it would screen some applicants, including those seeking student visas, for “antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals”.

In March, Axios reported on a State Department plan to launch an AI-powered “Catch and Revoke” effort, which would include AI-assisted reviews of student visa holders’ social media accounts.

The likely impact

The pause is temporary and only applies to new visa interviews. Already scheduled visa interviews will not be cancelled.
However, the order will likely cause delays in student visa processing, according to experts. Estimated appointment wait times at US embassies around the world currently range from days to months. A backlog of appointments or more intensive vetting could extend this further.

Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford University, told Time Magazine that “the pause affects a million students and hundreds of thousands more who are considering an American education… No one knows if it is temporary or permanent, and whether restrictions on international education will be imposed on some countries or all countries.”

There is also concern that expansive vetting of social media posts could discourage international students from coming to the US. During the 2023-2024 academic year, international students contributed approximately $43.8 billion to the US economy through tuition and fees, and living expenses, according to the NAFSA Association of International Educators, a nonprofit dedicated to international education and exchange.