The US State Department is restoring student visas for foreigners, but a new condition has appeared
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The U.S. State Department is resuming the suspended process of issuing student visas to foreigners, but all applicants will now be required to unblock their social media accounts for government review, the Associated Press reports.

According to State Department officials, consular officers will review applicants' publications or messages to ensure they do not contain any hostility toward the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or fundamental principles.

The department notes that refusing to make accounts public may indicate a desire to hide something.

The student visa process was suspended last month by the Donald Trump administration, which announced increased scrutiny of foreigners coming to the US to study.

Students from other countries, including China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, have been closely monitoring the websites of American consulates for several weeks to book visa interviews before the start of the academic year.

At the same time, the US government has said it will give priority to applicants who plan to study at universities where the proportion of international students does not exceed 15%. Such universities in the US are a minority.

For example, all eight Ivy League universities, as well as some large public universities such as the University of Illinois or Pennsylvania State University, have a higher percentage of international students.

In the future, the US may expand restrictions on countries that Washington believes do not provide adequate screening of travelers.

If these countries fail to comply with US requirements within 60 days, citizens may be denied entry to the country.

  • Trump has frozen about $3 billion in federal grants to Harvard in recent weeks, forcing the university to sue to restore funding.
  • His administration sought to revoke the student visas and green cards of foreign students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
  • On May 23, the Trump administration banned Harvard from teaching international students.