The Trump administration in the United States will begin canceling visas for certain Chinese students.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department and Department of Homeland Security will work ‘aggressively to revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.’
He further noted that the department will update visa criteria to increase scrutiny of all future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.
According to the Institute of International Education, China had the second-highest number of international students in U.S. higher education for the 2023/2024 academic year, with 277,398 students.
‘I want to make sure that the foreign students are people who can love our country,’ Rubio stated in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Reports indicate that the administration has intensified social media vetting for foreign students and is pushing to increase deportations and visa revocations as part of its broader efforts to advance the president’s stringent immigration policies.
On Tuesday, the administration instructed U.S. embassies to suspend all student visa applications in line with the president’s crackdown on the U.S. higher education sector.
Rubio directed officials to cease scheduling appointments for student visa applicants as they prepare to roll out an expanded social media vetting process.
‘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,’ the cable states.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
