The Trump administration has ordered all US embassies to halt student and exchange visa interviews until further notice. The directive, issued Tuesday via a State Department cable, is part of a broader plan to introduce sweeping social media screening for all international applicants. This freeze could severely delay visa processing, potentially impacting thousands of Moroccan students who want to pursue their studies in the US. The new policy expands on measures introduced in March, when US consular officers were instructed to conduct mandatory social media checks on students involved in pro-Palestinian campus protests. Officers are required to screenshot and archive posts they consider «derogatory», even if later deleted. Now, «all» student visa applicants, whether politically active or not, will face social media screening, with posts, shares, and comments across platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok under scrutiny for potential «threats to national security». United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told colleagues that the State Department has revoked «probably thousands» of visas since the March directive. It is worth noting that there are more than one million foreign students in the United States, contributing nearly $43.8bn to the US economy and supporting more than 378,000 jobs in 2023 to 2024, according to Association of International Educators (NAFSA).
