Overview

• A May 30 State Department cable directs consular posts worldwide to apply additional vetting for any nonimmigrant visa applicant traveling to Harvard for any purpose.
• Enhanced screening requires officers to review applicants’ entire online presence, flag private social media accounts as credibility risks and may lead to visa refusals.
• The directive follows earlier actions that froze over $2.2 billion in federal grants, threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status and launched a probe into alleged campus antisemitism.
• Harvard has sued the administration, and a federal judge extended an injunction on May 29 blocking efforts to revoke its certification to enroll international students.
• International students, scholars and labor unions report growing fear and uncertainty over visa security, with some considering alternative institutions under intensifying scrutiny.