U.S. pushing for mandatory review of social media pages of international students

In its latest border control INITIATIVE the Trump administration has halted visa interviews for international students seeking to study in the U.S. as it prepares to vet their social media accounts.

Lee Seung-jae has details.

The U.S. government is now looking into mandating social media screening for international students who wish to study in their country.

In preparation for the new review system, the U.S. State Department has ordered all diplomatic missions around the world to temporarily suspend visa interviews for international students.

In an announcement made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, "consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued," in preparation for "an expansion of required social media screening and vetting."

However, Rubio said that the government will proceed with interviews that have already been scheduled.

Those looking to apply for the F, M, and J visas will see their interviews temporarily suspended.

F visas are issued to students who wish to study at a U.S. university or review language training, while the M visa is for those who wish to receive job training.

The J visa is for exchanges in the fields of education, arts, and science, particularly for exchange researchers and students.

If the Trump administration does carry out the screening process,.. it could significantly slow down student visa processing, effectively hurting many U.S. schools that rely heavily on foreign students to boost their financial coffers.

The government had earlier imposed a partial social media screening requirement, mostly targeting returning students who may have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

However, the latest order does not specifically say what the government would be screening for, but that it aims to keep out terrorists and battle anti-Semitism.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.