Is this the end? Asian students bound for US anxious about visa freeze

Latest policy change ramps up restrictions amid wider campaign against top universities

- Rohini Mohan

BENGALURU/BEIJING - Mr Devraj was until recently stressed about securing part-funding for a humanities master's programme at Columbia University, New York. But though the Delhi-based 26-year-old has secured a scholarship that will cover 85 per cent of his tuition, he is unsure if he will get to go to the US at all.

Millions of students across the globe are in a similar bind, now that a new US policy has effectively frozen new student visa applications.

A US State Department directive on May 27 ordered embassies to suspend scheduling appointments for student and foreign visitor visas as it prepares to expand social media vetting of such applicants to enhance national security.

Issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the memo directed US embassies to remove any unfilled appointments from their calendars for students seeking visas but said those with appointments already scheduled could go ahead.

Mr Rubio said the pause would last "until further guidance is issued".

The move escalates a series of restrictions on international students, amid the US government's wider pressure campaign against top American universities.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security told Harvard University that it can no longer enrol international students.

This was purportedly to hold the Ivy League school accountable "for fostering violence, anti-Semitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus". A judge has temporarily blocked the ban.

In a twist of the knife for international students, the latest policy change could delay visa processing and disrupt enrolment timelines at US universities.

Several student applicants in Asia declined The Straits Times' request for comment, citing a "fear of any consequences" impacting their visa eligibility.