Prospective international students to the U.S. were dealt another blow when U.S. embassies were ordered not to schedule any new student visa interviews while the Trump Administration prepares to expand its vetting of applicants’ social media profiles.
“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 … in the coming days,” a Tuesday diplomatic cable reportedly said, which was first reported by Politico.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, the State Department said, “As a general matter, we don’t comment on the authenticity or veracity of allegedly leaked cables.” An unnamed U.S. official confirmed details of the order to the Associated Press.
It’s the latest move in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on universities across the U.S. and international students, who have been especially targeted as the federal government exercises its control over immigration policy.
Thousands of international students at Harvard were left in the lurch when the Trump Administration revoked the esteemed university’s authorization to enroll foreign students on May 22—one of a series of penalties for what the Administration says is a result of Harvard’s noncompliance with a list of demands. (The revocation is being challenged in court.) The Administration also quietly abruptly cancelled the visas of thousands of international students across the country before reversing the move, and a number of foreign-born students have been targeted for immigration action—in some cases related to pro-Palestinian campus activism, while in others for no apparent reason.
Here’s what to know about the order.
How applicants could be affected
The pause is temporary and only applies to new visa interviews, the U.S. official told the AP. Already scheduled visa interviews will go ahead.
Trump imposed heightened scrutiny of applicants, including social media screenings, during his first term—a policy that continued through the Biden Administration. Earlier this year, the State Department also increased social media screening requirements mainly aimed at students who had participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests last spring.
It’s not yet clear what the additional social media vetting would screen for, but the cable reportedly alludes to Trump’s executive orders related to terrorism and antisemitism. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected tightened visa restrictions with student protests.
“If you tell me that you’re coming to the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries, and try to burn down buildings … we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on May 20.
But State Department officials have found past guidance on what to screen for vague, according to Politico, for instance whether posting a photo of a Palestinian flag on social media should be flagged.
The plan could cause delays in student visa processing. Estimated appointment wait times at U.S. embassies worldwide currently range from days to months—a backlog of appointments or more intensive vetting could extend that.
When asked by reporters about potential delays, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country, and we’re going to continue to do that.” Bruce added: “We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise.”
Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford University, tells TIME that “the pause affects a million students and hundreds of thousands more who are considering an American education. It is like tariff policy. No one knows if it is temporary or permanent, and whether restrictions on international education will be imposed on some countries or all countries.”
How universities—and the U.S.—could be affected
If prospective international students turn away from applying to the U.S., the impact on U.S. higher education could be severe.
Marginson says that elite universities like Harvard are likely to be more concerned about the impact on their ability to attract top global talent than on their endowments. But he adds that many other universities rely on international students, many of whom pay full tuition, to “generate a substantial part of revenue.”
“It imposes wild uncertainty on an international education sector that turns on reputation, hospitality, financial stability and reliable people management,” Marginson adds.
“For a long time, U.S. higher education has been considered as a top destination by international students,” says Lili Yang, an associate professor specializing in higher education at the University of Hong Kong. “At the same time, U.S. higher education has benefited much from international students especially regarding financial stability and research.”
More than a million international students enrolled at U.S. institutions for the 2023-2024 academic year. That number already declined 11% over the past year from March 2024 to 2025, and experts suggest it would likely shrink further under Trump’s new policies.
Arkesh Patel, chief operating officer of higher education consulting firm Crimson Education, tells TIME that during Trump’s first term, students leaned towards applying to alternative destinations, like the U.K. “After a change in administration in 2021, many were once again enthusiastic about U.S. universities,” Patel adds. That trend appears to be emerging again, Patel says, as more students and their families consider applying to other countries because of “a sense of uncertainty” around U.S. policy.
International students are already “the most tracked and vetted category of nonimmigrants” in the U.S., Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, said in a statement, calling the State Department’s latest directive a “poor use of taxpayer dollars.” Aw added: “there is no urgent justification to halt visa appointments while internal policy updates are considered. This only adds unnecessary delays, fuels uncertainty, and damages our reputation as a welcoming destination for global talent.”
“The idea that the embassies have the time, the capacity and taxpayer dollars are being spent this way is very problematic,” Aw told Politico. “International students are not a threat to this country. If anything, they’re an incredible asset to this country.”
Experts also say more expansive social media screening of students, combined with other punitive policies that appear aimed at universities that were the sites of pro-Palestinian student protests, could have a chilling effect on academic freedom and free speech.
Trump’s crackdown, Yang says, damages the “U.S.’s reputation [as] a place for free expression.”
Marginson believes the Trump Administration is unbothered, and that its latest move won’t be its last. “The point is that the administration doesn’t care about all the negatives and seems to revel in destabilizing [higher] education, this time catching every university in the net,” he says. “What’s next?”
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