New U.S. visa policy adds social media screening for foreign students

The U.S. is resuming its visa applications for foreign scholars but now requires full access to their social media accounts for thorough vetting procedures.

Lee Eun-hee reports.

The U.S. State Department is resuming the process for foreign nationals applying for student visas, following a temporary suspension last month.

But according to a statement released Wednesday, applicants will now be required to provide information about their social media profiles.

All applicants will be asked to set the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to public.

New guidance directs U.S. diplomats to look for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States."

Failure to comply may be seen as an attempt to evade screening or as an effort to conceal online activity.

This policy applies to students and other applicants for visas in the F, M, and J categories, which refer to academic and vocational education, as well as cultural exchanges.

The temporary pause in visa interview scheduling last month was prompted by the U.S. evaluating new social media vetting procedures, leaving students worldwide anxious.

The New York Times commented that the guidelines' "vague parameters will no doubt create much uncertainty among American universities and students and scholars overseas who intend to travel to the United States."

It also wrote that critics say such a process and other related actions by Secretary of State Marco Rubio are aimed at limiting free speech, enforcing certain beliefs, and pressuring foreign citizens to censor themselves and refrain from criticizing the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, according to a senior state department official, the Trump administration is working to make America safer, acting on citizen expectations, and that Marco Rubio was "helping to make America and its universities safer while bringing the state Department into the 21st century."

Lee Eun-hee, Arirang News.