The Trump administration has ordered a temporary halt to scheduling new student visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.
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This news comes as the administration weighs a plan to require foreign applicants to undergo social media vetting.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed US embassies and consulates to suspend student visa interviews, as detailed in an internal cable acquired by Politico.
The cable, dated May 27, instructs consular sections to refrain from adding new appointment capacity for student (F, M, and J) and exchange visitor visas “until further guidance is issued,” expected within days.
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“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days,” a cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly states.
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Existing appointments remain unaffected, allowing already-scheduled interviews to proceed.
The pause threatens to disrupt the enrollment plans of over 1.1 million international students, who, according to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 378,000 jobs in the 2023-2024 school year.
Elite institutions like Harvard (where international students comprise 27% of enrollment) rely heavily on full tuition payments from these students.
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