US President Donald Trump stated at the White House that he still welcomes international students to study in the US, reversing his stance on recent policies perceived as restrictive towards foreign students.
However, according to a Reuters report on May 30, the US State Department has issued a directive to all American embassies and consulates worldwide, mandating additional scrutiny for visa applicants affiliated with Harvard University. The directive, sent via cable, indicates that the enhanced screening applies to a wide range of applicants, including prospective students, current students, faculty, staff, contractors, guest speakers, and even visitors.
The cable specifies that consular officers can require applicants to temporarily set their social media accounts to "public" for review purposes. Notably, this enhanced screening process targeting Harvard is described as a "pilot program" intended to "broaden the scope of screening and vetting for general visa applicants, including student visas." The State Department may extend similar measures to other categories of visa applicants as deemed appropriate under US law.
This new directive follows a series of controversial statements and actions by the Trump administration. On May 26, President Trump posted on his social media platform "Truth Social" that he was considering withdrawing US$3 billion in federal funding from Harvard University, accusing the institution of harboring "rampant anti-Semitism." He suggested reallocating the funds to vocational schools across the country.
In a related development, on May 27, the political news website Politico reported that the Trump administration had temporarily suspended new student visa interviews and was exploring the expansion of social media checks for international students.
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