US Tightens Social Media Vetting for Foreign Student Visa Applications

The US is restarting student visa appointments but will significantly tighten its social media vetting in a bid to identify applicants who are hostile towards the US or pose a threat to national security, according to an internal State Department cable reviewed by Reuters.

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WASHINGTON -

US consular officers are required to conduct a "comprehensive and thorough vetting" of all student and exchange visitor applicants to identify those who "bear hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles", says the cable, which was dated and sent to US missions on June 18.

On May 27, the Trump administration ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants, saying the State Department was set to expand social media vetting of foreign students.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said updated guidance would be released once a review was completed.

The June 18 cable tells officers that for "applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism, especially when it is associated with violence or with the views and activities described above, you must consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States".

The cable, which was first reported by Free Press, also authorizes the consular officers to ask the applicants to make all of their social media accounts public.