WASHINGTON: The United States is directing its US diplomatic missions overseas to renew pupil visa purposes, however is now requiring candidates to make their social media profiles public for vetting functions, a senior State Division official mentioned on Wednesday (Jun 18).
On Might 27, the Trump administration ordered its missions overseas to stop scheduling new appointments for student and alternate customer visa candidates because the State Division ready to broaden social media vetting of international college students.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had mentioned up to date steerage can be launched as soon as a evaluate was accomplished.
On Wednesday, a State Division official, talking on the situation of anonymity, mentioned below new steerage, consular officers will conduct a “complete and thorough vetting” of all pupil and alternate customer candidates.
“To facilitate this vetting, all candidates for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will probably be requested to regulate the privateness settings on all their social media profiles to ‘public.’ Posts could resume scheduling F, M, and J visa purposes,” the official mentioned.
“The improved social media vetting will guarantee we’re correctly screening each single particular person trying to go to our nation.”
Rubio, Trump’s high diplomat and nationwide safety adviser, has mentioned he has revoked the visas of hundreds, maybe hundreds of individuals, together with college students, as a result of they bought concerned in actions that he mentioned went towards US international coverage priorities.
These actions embrace assist for Palestinians and criticism of Israel’s conduct within the warfare in Gaza.
