U.S. diplomats have officially been directed to screen the social media and online presence of all foreign nationals applying for student and other educational visas, according to a State Department cable issued Wednesday and obtained by POLITICO.
In the cable, diplomats are directed to review applicants’ online presence for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.” The cable also instructs diplomats to flag any “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.”
Support for the Hamas militant group is listed as a specific example.
POLITICO reported in May that the State Department was weighing expanding existing social media screening for some student visa applicants to all such applicants and widening the scope of what it looked for when doing such screenings. At the time, the department also ordered diplomatic outposts to pause scheduling new student visa interviews.
Later that month, the department launched a screening program for visa applicants looking to study, teach, research or participate in educational programs at Harvard University. The cable launching that program, which the State Department described as a “pilot” for a broader program of screening visa applicants, did not specifically outline what constituted a potentially “derogatory” online social media presence.
Wednesday’s 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.
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