Key points
- The pause would last until further guidance is issued: BBC
- State Department spokesperson did not directly respond to matter
- Trump administration has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities
ISLAMABAD: The US has suspended foreign students’ visa appointments as it weighs expanded guidelines for screening applicants’ social media accounts, The Washington Post reported.
The newspaper cited experts as terming it a troubling development in the Trump administration’s campaign against universities.
BBC reported that in a copy of a memo sent to diplomatic posts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the pause would last “until further guidance is issued”.
“Most elite colleges”
It comes amid Trump’s feud with some of America’s most elite colleges, which he believes are too left-wing. He says some of them have uphold discriminatory admissions policies.
CBS News reported that the state department memo directed US embassies on Tuesday to remove any unfilled appointments from their calendars for students seeking visas, but said those with appointments already scheduled could go ahead.
Foreign students who want to study in the US are usually required to schedule interviews at an American embassy in their home country before approval.
Al-Jazeera reported that US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce did not directly respond to the cable, but said broadly, “We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country.”
“Harvard University”
The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities and moved to deport students, while revoking thousands of visas for others. Many of these actions have been blocked by the courts.
The White House has accused some US universities of allowing pro-Palestinian activism on campus.
Colleges have accused the Trump administration of trying to infringe upon free speech rights.
Harvard University has been the focal point of President Donald Trump’s ire. Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enrol international students or host foreign researchers. A federal judge blocked the policy.
