Student Visa Overhaul: Harvard First in Line

The State Department has told U.S. consulates and embassies to immediately begin reviewing the social media accounts of Harvard’s student visa applicants for antisemitism in what it called a pilot program that could be rolled out for colleges nationwide.

The cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, obtained by POLITICO, was sent late Thursday. It says consular officers should “conduct a complete screening of the online presence of any nonimmigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.” The policy, while primarily affecting students, will also include faculty members, researchers, staff members and guest speakers at Harvard.

The policy will take effect immediately, per the cable. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The document puts into motion a proposal the Trump administration floated earlier this week for expanded social media vetting of all foreign students applying to U.S. colleges, pausing new appointments for student visa applicants in the meantime. Increased social media vetting did already exist, but it was previously primarily intended for returning students who may have participated in protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Notably, State Department leadership wants consular officers to consider “whether the lack of any online presence, or having social media accounts restricted to ‘private’ or with limited visibility, may be reflective of evasiveness and call into question the applicant’s credibility.” The cable also instructs consular officers to inform applicants with private social media accounts that they could be viewed as evading vetting and request they make their accounts public while the Fraud Prevention Unit reviews their case.

It also adds to the White House’s battle with elite academic institutions over alleged mishandling of cases of antisemitism during campus protests in response to Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip against militant group Hamas.

State begins rolling out expanded student visa vetting