The dream of many Nigerians to study in the United States may have become more difficult to realise after the Donald Trump administration ordered US embassies to stop scheduling appointments for student visas as it prepares to expand social media vetting of such applicants.
In a copy of a memo sent to diplomatic posts, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the pause would last “until further guidance is issued”.
The message said social media vetting would be stepped up for student and foreign exchange visas, which would have “significant implications” for embassies and consulates.
It comes amid Trump’s feud with some of America’s most elite colleges, which he believes are too left-wing. He says some of them have enabled antisemitism on campus and uphold discriminatory admissions policies.
The state department memo, viewed by the BBC’s US partner CBS News, directed US embassies on Tuesday to remove any unfilled appointments from their calendars for students seeking visas, but said those with appointments already scheduled could go ahead.
Responding to the move, China called on the US to protect international students. “We urge the US side to earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those from China,” an official was quoted as saying.
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students attend US universities. The universities themselves are likely to be disquieted as well. Many of them rely on foreign students for a significant chunk of their funding – as those scholars often pay higher tuition fees.
Foreign students who want to study in the US are usually required to schedule interviews at a US embassy in their home country before approval.
State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, told reporters on Tuesday: “We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country, and we’re going to continue to do that.”
The Trump administration had already enhanced its vetting of student social media, according to a report by the Guardian in March, which linked the move to a broader crackdown on proPalestinian demonstrations on campuses.
In April, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that it would consider “antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests”.
