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4h ago

State Department Orders Social Media Checks for Student and Exchange Visa Applicants

Consular officers will resume student visa interviews with precise guidance to vet applicants’ online activity for signs of hostility toward U.S. institutions.

Inset: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio poses during a meeting with the Kazakhstan deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, DC on June 12, 2025. Main: An employee checks phones as pro-Palestinian supporters hold picket line outside Columbia University, Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2024, in New York.
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the American Compass New World Gala at the National Building Museum on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The State Department will require student visa applicants to make public their social media profiles to be vetted for anti-American views

Overview

  • A State Department cable instructs U.S. diplomats to review social media and other online presence of all foreign nationals applying for student and exchange visas.
  • Consular officers must flag any posts indicating hostility toward U.S. citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles.
  • The directive also requires embassies to identify advocacy for or support of foreign terrorist organizations and unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s prior order paused student and exchange visa interviews and the new guidance now allows those interviews to resume under expanded vetting.
  • The administration says the measures aim to counter antisemitism on U.S. campuses and bolster national security.