In the last couple of days, there has been a lot of news coverage on US Student Visa appointments being paused by the US Department of State. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the same on what is the official news, guidance, and why the F1 Visa appointments are paused.
In this article, we will dig deeper into the reality of the news, what’s official news, what is being talked about, why the Trump Administration is doing this, what are the next steps.
Update: The F, M and J Visa Appointments are open now. The US Dept of State announced new vetting for student applicants and more. Read details at F, M, J Visa Appointments Open, More Security Vetting, Guidance
News: Booking F1 Visa Appointments to Study in the US Paused
The news of the pause in booking F1 Visa appointments for prospective international students planning to study in the US was first reported by Politico. The news was based on a cable obtained by Politico, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It states below:
- The US Consulates and Embassies worldwide should not add any new US visa appointments for F, M, and J Visa applicants until further guidance.
- The reason for pausing the appointments is to let the US Dept. of State prepare for the expansion of social media screening and vetting of prospective student applicants.
Below is the screenshot of the news reported by them with the key message of the cable.
The Associated Press(AP) news team later confirmed the same news, adding a few more details to the details provided by Politio. As per the updated AP News, below is the additional info
- A US Official indicated that the pause of US Visa appointments for F1 Visa students is temporary.
- The pause in booking Student Visa appointments is only applicable for new appointments and does not apply to anyone who already have an appointment scheduled with the US Consulate or Embassy.
- They will use every tool out there to assess and vet students arriving in the US
Below is the screenshot of the news reported by Associated press with key parts highlighted.
Official news on pausing F1 Visa Appointments from the US Dept. of State?
No, there is no official news or press release by the US Department of State on their State.gov press release pages. There are also no updates on the US Consulates or US Embassies pages across the globe, including US Embassy India and US Visa Scheduling websites.
The only news coverage on this is from Politico and AP News. Everyone else are going with that update. Also, the confirmation given to the AP News team by the US Official is on condition of anonymity. We are yet to see an official update on this.
Based on the news sources so far, we can assume the news to be real and F, J and M visa appointments for new applicants is paused temporarily. We will keep this page updated as more info comes in.
Why US Student Visa Appointments Paused?
Since the Trump Administration took office earlier this year, they have taken actions against anyone involved, including international students, in any pro-Palestine or antisemitism activities on US Universities’ campuses.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has mentioned several times in his talks that international students’ main job is to study, and they should not be involved in any activities related to global politics or issues surrounding the same in Universities campuses.
The pause in US Visa Student Appointments for F, M and J visas is to introduce additional vetting for international students who plan to study in the US. The US Department of State plans to introduce a new vetting system that may look closely at posts made by the prospective students’ in their Social Media accounts. In additional to that they may use other databases, publicly available information or tools to do vetting. These details have not been disclosed at the moment.
We may come to know about these once the changes are made to the online US Visa application system. Stay tuned.
Next Steps for US Student Visa Appointments Situation?
Update: The F, M and J Visa Appointments are open now. The US Dept of State announced new vetting for student applicants and more. Read details at F, M, J Visa Appointments Open, More Security Vetting, Guidance
We may expect US Department of State to make changes to their online application system or visa appointment system to capture more details or get more disclosures from the applicants.
After the changes are done, they may either be announced publicly using a press release or they may softly roll out the changes without any update, similar to US Visa Dropbox Stamping Rule Changes to 12 months.
We will keep you posted on the updates on the blog, stay tuned.
What are your thoughts on the pausing of the US Visa Appointments for F1 Students? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
America swatchata abhiyan commenses! All telgu gulti illegal multiple h1b visa peoples should be kikked out and compelled to was whitehouse toilets.
All degree certificates and transcripts should be throughly verified as many from a speck souther state come to US with fake degrees for decades, recent arrest: https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/student-visa-scam-telangana-youth-deported-from-us-arrested-at-hyderabad-airport/3868258/lite/
Hello Kumar
I came on f1 now approved H1b
Am I eligible to go in person interview for H1b stamping in Tijuana Mexico
All telgu illigal h1b peoples with multiple hqb filings.. go back to telangana and clean shitty toilets you are a burden to america. america swachata abhiyanam has begun. make Telangana filthy Again.