The State Department plans to review the social media accounts of foreign citizens who apply for student and visiting scholars visas as it resumes processing those applications.
Applicants will be screened for perceived “hostility” toward the United States, and they will be asked to make their social media accounts “public” for the review, State Department officials said on Wednesday.
All applications for F, M and J nonimmigrant visas, which are for scholarly exchanges and research, will be reviewed, the officials said.
Consular officers at missions overseas are being told to look for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.” The State Department did not provide further details on how officers would define that criteria.
The agency issued the guidelines after halting the processing of student and visiting scholar visas for nearly a month.
The new policy appears to be the latest prong in the Trump administration’s broad assault on universities, which is focused on trying to tamp down liberal thought at the institutions. Some of President Trump’s aides say American universities need to embrace more conservative ideas and people.
The guidance’s vague parameters will no doubt create much uncertainty among American universities and students and scholars overseas who intend to travel to the United States.
Critics say the review process and other related actions on visas by Secretary of State Marco Rubio are aimed at stifling free speech, promoting ideological conformity and coercing foreign citizens to censor themselves and refrain from criticizing the Trump administration.
Many U.S. universities ask foreign students to pay full tuition, which makes up a substantial portion of the schools’ annual revenues. On some campuses, foreign students are the majority of researchers in certain disciplines, especially in the sciences.
Foreign students collectively pursued more than 1.3 million degrees in higher education in 2023, according to a report by the Department of Homeland Security.
Professors visiting from abroad, who are also affected by the new restrictions, often play important teaching and research roles at many American universities.
A State Department spokesperson said in an email in mid-March that “all available technology” was being used to screen visa applicants and visa holders. The spokesperson was replying to a question from The New York Times about whether the department was using artificial intelligence to scan databases and social media posts to find people who, in the eyes of Trump aides, should have their visas revoked.
“I think we are very worried that this is going to be some political litmus test that’s going to be applied to students,” said Sarah Spreitzer, the vice president of the American Council on Education. “I don’t believe that’s ever happened before. Obviously we’re going to see how it’s going to be applied.”
Mr. Rubio issued a cable on March 25 that told consular officers to scrutinize the social media content of some applicants for student and other types of visas.
He sent another cable to embassies and consulates on May 27, ordering them to halt interviews for student and visiting scholar visas until State Department headquarters could come up with new guidelines for reviewing applicants’ social media accounts.
Mr. Rubio has also said that the State Department would target visas held by Chinese students. He announced on May 28 that the Trump administration would work to “aggressively revoke” visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or who are studying in “critical fields.” He and the department have given no further details.
Separately, the Trump administration tried this spring to end foreign student enrollment at Harvard University as part of its attack on that school. The State Department stopped processing visas for foreign students, scholars and other foreign visitors planning to go to Harvard, but the agency told overseas missions on June 9 to resume the processing after a judge prohibited the administration from adopting the ban.
In recent months, Mr. Rubio has spoken about canceling various student visas, revoking permanent residency status (“green cards”) and scrutinizing the social media history of foreign visitors, often in the context of outrage around Israel’s war campaign in Gaza. He has said pro-Palestinian protesters on campuses have harassed other students, destroyed property and disrupted daily life, even though those acts have not been widespread across university protests.
Mr. Rubio told reporters in late March that he had revoked 300 or more visas, many of which were issued to students, and was continuing to cancel more daily.
In early March, Mr. Rubio stripped permanent residency status from Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia University who had been a student activist. Mr. Rubio said Mr. Khalil, who has Palestinian heritage and is married to an American citizen, was undermining U.S. foreign policy. Immigration agents then arrested Mr. Khalil.
In some cases, the foreign citizens at risk of losing their visas or green cards have brought cases against the U.S. government, and judges have issued temporary restraining orders on federal actions.
Stephanie Saul contributed reporting from New York.
Edward Wong reports on global affairs, U.S. foreign policy and the State Department for The Times.
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