The US government has suspended the scheduling of new interviews for student visa applicants worldwide as it considers strict vetting of applicants’ social media profiles.
The directive was issued by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in a cable sent out to diplomats worldwide on Tuesday, according to Politico.
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This means that US embassies in Nigeria and many other countries will stop setting up new interview appointments for people who want to apply for student visas, such as the F-1 visa.
Although this is only temporary, during this period, no new applicants will be able to schedule an interview, which is a required step in the student visa process.
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Mr Rubio, however, ordered that interviews that have already been scheduled can proceed.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” Mr Rubio said in the cable.
He stated that the guidance on social media vetting is expected in the coming days.
Thousands of Nigerian students study in American universities for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with more seeking to join them.
The latest action is part of the US government’s efforts to control foreign students’ entry to American schools over claims they have contributed to an atmosphere that promotes antisemitism.
The Trump administration is currently pressuring US universities to change their race-conscious admission policies.
Last week, the administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students by revoking its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.
The Department of Homeland Security attributed this to the university’s refusal to comply with its requests for the behavioural records of student visa holders.
It had earlier frozen $2.3 billion in federal funds to the university.
The administration has also revoked the visas of hundreds of foreign students.
Last Month, PREMIUM TIMES reported that about 600 international students in over 90 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated.
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In April, Cynderila Patrick, a Nigerian and graduate of Youngstown State University in Ohio, filed a lawsuit against the US government after her student visa was revoked.
Many other international students affected have also filed lawsuits.
Last Thursday, a federal judge issued a ruling that prevents the US government from terminating the legal status of foreign students while a court case challenging the previous terminations was pending.
Meanwhile, Mr Rubio stated that the State Department had likely revoked thousands of student visas across the country and was open to revoking more.
“We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” he told Congress last Tuesday.
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