The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered embassies to suspend student visa appointments as it prepares to expand social media screening for such applicants.
In a copy of a memo sent to diplomatic missions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the suspension would last “until further notice.”
The memo said social media screening would be stepped up for student and exchange visas, with “significant consequences” for embassies and consulates.
The decision comes amid Trump’s clash with some of America’s most elite universities, which he sees as too left-leaning. He claims some of them have facilitated anti-Semitism on campus and support discriminatory admissions policies.
According to a State Department memo seen by CBS News, U.S. embassies were instructed on Tuesday to cancel all unscheduled appointments for student visa applicants, but that appointments already scheduled could be held.
The diplomatic note also states that the State Department is preparing to expand mandatory social media background checks and monitoring, which will apply to all student visa applications. It did not specify exactly what the background checks would include.
