US embassies must vet students for ‘hostile attitudes’ but can resume visa appointments, State Department says

The US State Department told embassies and consulates they must vet student visa applicants for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” but said they may resume appointments that were paused in late May.

The US State Department told embassies and consulates they must vet student visa applicants for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” but said they may resume appointments that were paused in late May. The new guidance was sent to US diplomatic posts worldwide in a cable seen by CNN Wednesday. It comes as the Trump administration has taken significant actions that are likely to deter international students from coming to the US. It has aggressively revoked student visas and specifically targeted Harvard University. The latest guidance “requires consular officers to conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all FMJ applicants, including online presence, to identify applicants who bear hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles; who advocate for, aid, or support designated terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security; or who perpetrate unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence,” according to the cable. The guidance, which applies to both new and returning applicants for student and exchange visas, formally known as F, M, and J visas, calls for “a review of the applicant’s entire online presence – not just social media activity – using any appropriate search engines or other online resources,” including “a check of any databases to which the consular section has access.” The guidance, first reported by the Free Press, does not give details of what constitutes “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” The cable says embassies and consulates should implement the new vetting within five business days. They “should resume scheduling FMJ appointments but should consider the effect of this guidance on workload and schedule accordingly.”