Trump suspends interview appointments for foreign students as a matter of urgency!
According to Politico, US President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to interviewing new international students seeking to study in the country, in order to screen them for online activity.
Citing a diplomatic memo sent to US embassies and consulates, the newspaper reported that the Trump administration has asked these diplomatic institutions to stop scheduling interviews with student visa applicants.
The memo, which was seen by Politico, is signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
If the Trump administration moves forward with this plan, it would severely slow down the process of issuing visas to international students, hurting universities that rely heavily on foreign students to boost their funding.
The notice states: “As a matter of urgency and in preparation for the expansion of cyber screening requirements, consular offices should not add any additional students to their interview schedule until further notice, which is likely to be in the next few days.”
The United States has previously introduced a number of cyber activity requirements. However, most of these requirements were aimed at expelling students who participated in anti-Zionist protests.
The notice does not directly state what the latest cyber screening requirement is about, but it does note that the new executive orders are aimed at keeping terrorists out of the United States and combating anti-Semitism.