The original "pause" cable. On May 27, 2025 the Department of State (DOS) ordered U.S. embassies and consulates to temporarily halt adding additional F, M, and J "visa appointment capacity" until it issued further guidance "in the coming days," on an expansion of social media screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants. See Trump team pauses new student visa interviews as it weighs expanding social media vetting, Politico, May 27, 2025. Politico cited a DOS cable that reportedly stated:
"Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days."
"SEPTEL" is DOS shorthand for "separate telegram," which means that DOS said it would send the actual guidance on expansion of social media vetting to consulates and embassies via a separate cable "in the coming days."
The separate guidance cable. On June 18, 2025 the Department of State announced that it finally issued the expected "new guidance" on social media vetting, and that consulates will resume scheduling F, M, and J nonimmigrant visa appointments soon. See Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicant, U.S. Department of State press release, June 18, 2025. A Washington Post article further reports "that the new procedures will take effect in five business days," and that the cable said that consulates "should consider overall scheduling volume and the resource demands of appropriate vetting." The DOS announcement stated that:
"We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security. Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.
To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.”
Our overseas posts will resume scheduling F, M, and J nonimmigrant visa applications soon. Applicants should check the relevant embassy or consulate website for appointment availability."
On June 18, 2025, media outlets also began reporting that they had obtained a copy of the cable sent to consular offices containing the anticipated new directives on how consular officers should screen the social media and online presence of applicants applying for F, M, and J visas, and factors the consulates should consider as they resume scheduling student visa interviews. See, for example:
- State Department unveils social media screening rules for all student visa applicants, Politico, June 18, 2025
- Student Visa Applicants with ‘Hostile Attitudes’ Will Be Told They Can’t Come to the U.S., The Free Press, June 18, 2025
- State Dept. restarts student visa interviews with tougher social media rules, The Washington Post, June 18, 2025
- Trump administration restarting student visa appointments, State Dept official says, Reuters, June 18, 2025
The media reports based on the cable they obtained contain more details than the State Department announcement, including:
Online/social media review. The Politico article reports that the June 18, 2025 DOS guidance cable directs consular officers to review online/social media presence for indications of a visa applicant's:
- “hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States”
- “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and
- “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence"
- "history of political activism” to “consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States”
The Washington Post article said that the guidance cable tells consular officers that they “should request that applicants make their social media accounts ‘public,’ then conduct the vetting described in this cable,” and that:
- If an applicant's social media accounts are "set to ‘private’ or otherwise limited, you should treat the case as any other where an applicant fails to provide certain information on request" and
- “You must consider whether such failure reflects evasiveness or otherwise calls into question the applicant’s credibility.”
Although the detection of any of the above factors would not immediately result in a denial of a visa application, it could lead the consular officer to conduct additional review that could delay visa issuance or ultimately result in a visa refusal. According to Politico, "the cable says discovery of such online content should trigger additional review so consular officers can determine whether an applicant will respect U.S. laws and 'engage only in activities consistent with his nonimmigrant visa status.'"
Resumption of appointment scheduling. The Politico article relates that the June 18, 2025 DOS guidance cable "says embassies can resume scheduling student visa interviews but that they should do so in a way that accounts for the increased workload that will come with the additional screening efforts." The Washington Post article further reports "that the new procedures will take effect in five business days," and that the cable said that consulates "should consider overall scheduling volume and the resource demands of appropriate vetting."
The Free Press article additionally reports that the cable "told consular officers that when expediting student visa applications, they should give preference to those seeking to study at schools where foreign students are less than 15 percent of the total student body."
Advocacy and engagement on the issue
Advocacy.
- On June 11, 2025, in collaboration with the U.S. for Success Coalition, NAFSA launched an advocacy campaign urging Congress to press the State Department to resume visa appointments immediately. See NAFSA's Visa Interview Suspension Advocacy page for links to:
- Convey to Congress that this suspension jeopardizes the contributions international students and scholars make to every corner of the United States and that visa appointments should resume immediately. Please take the additional step of customizing this message with specific examples of how this funding suspension is having a direct impact on your communities.
- Use the NAFSA Social Media Toolkit to amplify our advocacy message far and wide across your networks.
- On May 30, 2025 NAFSA joined a letter led by the American Council on Education to the Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio expressing deep concern about the pause in student visa interviews and plans to revoke the visas for some Chinese students.
- Tell NAFSA About the Impact the Visa Appointment Suspension is Having on Your Institution. Complete a survey accessible through NAFSA IssueNet to help NAFSA gather information on how the suspension in new student/exchange visitor visa appointment availability is affecting international enrollment, planning, and operations. You will be asked to provide estimated numbers of visa documents issued, enrollment, etc. Submissions are anonymous. NAFSA will not share specific details gathered but will use the information collected to describe broadly what is occurring and identify patterns and trends. Please designate one individual from your institution to report cases to avoid duplicate reporting.
- NAFSA's International Education Town Hall: Visa Interview Suspension Advocacy webinar took place on June 13, 2025, covering updates on this issue from NAFSA leaders as well as some strategies and resources for how international educators can make the case with campus and congressional leaders that international students and scholars are essential to the U.S. economy, workforce development, and national security. The Town Hall was not recorded.