New policy on visas adds to mounting scrutiny of international students in the US

By ANNIE MA Associated Press WASHINGTON AP New State Department guidance on visa applications is adding to scrutiny of international students that has intensified under President Donald Trump who has leveraged control of foreign enrollment to press his demands with American colleges In a cable sent Tuesday to U S embassies and consulates Tuesday Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for international students until the department releases guidelines for increased vetting of their activity on social media Existing appointments may be kept and will proceed under current review guidelines the cable disclosed but new guidance is expected in the coming days It came days after the Trump administration moved to block Harvard University from enrolling any international students a decision that has been put on hold by a federal judge pending a lawsuit Trump disclosed Wednesday that Harvard whose current participant population is made up of more than a quarter of international students should limit that percentage to about I want to make sure the foreign students are people that can love our country Trump notified reporters in the Oval Office Related Articles Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge s order on deportations to South Sudan NPR Colorado stations sue Trump administration over executive order to cut funding to citizens media Trump administration moves to cut million in federal contracts for Harvard White House conducting massive overhaul of National Safeguard Council representatives say Denver sues Trump administration over threat to withhold million in transportation funding Earlier this year U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and tried to deport students who had been involved in campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war And the Trump administration abruptly terminated the legal status of thousands of international students before reversing itself and then expanding the grounds on which students can lose permission to survey in the U S The uncertainty raised by the suspension of the visa appointments will do further damage to the U S reputation as a destination country disclosed Fanta Aw CEO of NAFSA an association that represents international educators Students generally commit to their operation of analysis in late spring meaning now would be peak time for students to schedule their visa interviews International students and scholars are tremendous assets that contribute to U S preeminence in innovation research and economic strength Aw revealed in a declaration Undermining their ability to assessment here is self-defeating With these actions the United States will alienate the very minds that fuel its success At the University of Wisconsin-Madison the context of uncertainty led one international pupil to cancel a trip home to Vietnam this summer He emails the school s international office frequently to make sure his legal status is secure There s just this constant unease It s quite stressful really I try not to think about too much or else I get too anxious revealed the pupil who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being targeted The pause affects three categories of visas that cover university students as well as high school exchange students and boarding school students The largest category F- visas includes students who are enrolling at full-time accredited schools Students participating in exchange programs enter on J- visas and those enrolling in vocational or non-academic programs enter on M- visas Around million international students were in the United States last year a source of essential revenue for tuition-driven colleges International students are not eligible for federal financial aid Often they pay full price Northeastern University which has more than international students has set up contingency plans for those who hit visa delays disclosed spokeswoman Renata Nyul without elaborating This is a very dynamic situation and we are closely monitoring the developments in real time to assess any feasible impacts she mentioned Visa applicants have been required to provide social media handles to the State Department since The cable did not indicate what kind of additional scrutiny the new guidelines would cover but suggested the new reviews may be more resource-intensive The additional vetting will deter students from coming to the U S mentioned Jonathan Friedman of PEN America a literary and free expression organization The details remain vague but this framework risks upending the long-standing place of the U S as a beacon for intellectual and cultural exchange with the world Friedman stated The move to cut off international enrollment at Harvard stems from a dispute with the Department of Homeland Guard which has demanded that it provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation Harvard says it complied with the records request but the agency announced its response fell short On Wednesday Trump mentioned more scrutiny of Harvard s students is necessary They re taking people from areas of the world that are very radicalized and we don t want them making trouble in our country Trump disclosed The Trump administration has cut over billion in federal grants for Harvard as it presses demands for changes to policies and governance at the Ivy League school which the president has described as a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism Harvard has pushed back and filed a lawsuit against the administration Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this record The Associated Press learning coverage receives financial aid from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org