No Social Media Account? No US Visa?

The US is tightening the rules for foreigners visiting various universities in the country for different purposes, including academic.

As part of it, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed for more scrutiny of social-media profiles of any foreigners seeking to visit Harvard University, including students, faculty and tourists.

The US consular officers were directed to deny visas if the applicants lacked an online presence. Rubio’s directive has been sent to embassies worldwide and is being considered as the latest salvo by the Trump administration against Harvard. It is likely to hit the elite universities more broadly.

The extra vetting procedure detailed in the document should be the guiding principle for the future. Rubio halted interviews for student visas to weed out applicants supposed to pose risks to US national security.

Rubio’s cable ordered the new vetting procedures for all foreigners who want to visit Harvard including prospective students, students, faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers, and tourists. The cable orders consular officers to thoroughly scrutinize social media profiles of potential applicants and direct them to make their social media account public to allow interviewers see the content in the profiles.

The Trump administration had cracked down on Harvard seeking the university to be barred from accepting any foreign students. However, a court put this decision on hold. International students comprised 5.9% of the total US higher education population of 19 million. In 2023-24, more than 1.1 million foreign students reached the US, with India being in the lead followed by China.