U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide have been instructed to pause new student visa appointments, according to a diplomatic cable issued Tuesday by the U.S. State Department and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement indicates that officials are working to review and expand the processes for screening and vetting visa applicants. This includes inspecting social media accounts, a practice the State Department currently employs for some students. An expansion of this effort could significantly slow down the visa application process.
Appointments for student visas that have already been scheduled can still take place.
"We use every tool in our tool chest to vet anyone coming in who wants to come into this country, and in order to do so has to apply for a visa to gain access to our nation," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. "Every sovereign country has a right to know who is trying to come in, why they want to come in, who they are, what they’ve been doing, and at least hopefully within that framework determine what they will be doing while they’re here."
RELATED STORY | Trump administration moves to cut federal contracts for Harvard
Students have been subject to background checks before entering the U.S. But whether the additional screenings will result in delays remains to be seen.
"We’ve always vetted people trying to come in," Bruce added. "We’ve always looked at visas seriously. It’s why we have a visa, so that you can stop and look at someone. So I can’t speak about what the individual experience will be, but the fact is that everyone knows that we’re – it’s a reminder, certainly, that we’re taking it seriously."
Applicants are required to be enrolled in an "academic" educational program, a language-training program, or a vocational program full time, and maintain a residence abroad.
RELATED STORY | President Trump promises to strip Harvard of tax-exempt status over policy disagreements
The announcement comes as the Trump administration has said that Harvard University is prohibited from welcoming new international students, and current international students should seek a transfer to other universities.
That effort is blocked by a judge for now.
The State Department's newest actions could have a ripple effect across college campuses and the economy.
More than 1.1 million international students were studying at U.S. institutions during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the Institute of International Education. Those students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs, according to data from NAFSA, a nonprofit association of international educators.
Limiting international students from studying in the U.S. could cause a brain drain as foreign students choose to study elsewhere, according to Fanta Aw, the executive director and CEO of NAFSA.
"I think it would mean for universities a loss of intellectual capital," Aw said. "It would mean loss of innovation engine and groundbreaking research that international graduate students contribute to."
Aw noted that more than four in ten U.S. unicorn companies — startups that achieve a $1 billion valuation — have at least one non-U.S.-born founder, according to a report from Stanford University's Venture Capital Initiative.
Ted Mitchell is the president of the American Council on Education and says he's not opposed to enhanced vetting of international students, but he worries about a wide-spread freeze on allowing foreigners to study in the U.S.
"The wholesale slamming the door is really small-minded and short-sighted," Mitchell said. "I think we will be a poorer set of institutions both financially, intellectually, and culturally if this freeze persists. ... I think it's dangerous for institutions, and I think, it's doubly dangerous for the country."
