Trump's administration: Temporary ban on visa interviews of international students

New York (The Uttam Hindu): The US State Department has temporarily halted visa interviews for F, M and J categories for international students. This step has been taken under strict scrutiny of social media activities. The order issued by the department said that until detailed guidelines are issued, US embassies and consulates will not take new appointments for visa interviews in these categories.

However, applicants who have already scheduled interview appointments will continue as is. The decision comes as part of the Trump administration's "extreme vetting" policy, which aims to deeply scrutinise visa applicants' social media activities. The scrutiny includes reviewing posts, comments, likes and shared content on platforms such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Facebook.

Under the policy, special attention is being paid to students who have expressed anti-American or anti-President Donald Trump views, or who have participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations. The visa status of such students is being re-examined and in some cases their visas have been revoked.

Education experts believe that this temporary ban could seriously affect the plans of international students to pursue higher education in the US. Currently, about 1.1 million international students are studying in American universities, contributing more than $40 billion to the US economy every year.