Extreme Vetting of Students
Enhanced Screening and Social Media Vetting for Visa Applicants and Visa Revocations
According to media reports, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently sent a cable to State Department consular officials titled “Action Request: Enhanced Screening and Social Media Vetting for Visa Applicants” instructing officials to impose additional scrutiny of certain student and exchange visitor visa applications.
The cable states:
Effective immediately, consular officers must refer certain student and exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa applicants to the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) for a mandatory social media check…
As part of screening every case for potential ineligibilities, consular officers MUST ADDRESS any derogatory information indicating that a visa applicant may be subject to the terrorism-related ineligibility grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),” the cable states. “This includes advocating for, sympathizing with, or persuading others to endorse or espouse terrorist activities or support a DESIGNATED FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION (FTO).”
In addition to the general policy proscriptions, the cable provides guidance to consular officials on how to analyse and adjudicate visa applications.
Evidence suggesting a student visa applicant intends to travel to the United States to engage in unlawful activities clearly calls into question whether the applicant possesses intent and/or the ability to solely pursue a full course of study. While many activities may not fall under the INA’s definition of “terrorist activity” you should otherwise consider that information in assessing the credibility of a visa applicant’s claimed purpose of travel.
It also instructs officers to conduct a review of social media activity for all F, M, and J visa applicants and referral for security review of individuals who have “open advocated” for a designated foreign terrorist organization.
In addition to heightened screening of visa applicants, the cable provides instruction on revocation of existing visas based on derogatory information received after visa issuance.
Visa Revocations
The sentiments of the cable were echoed in remarks by Secretary of State Rubio in comments made to the press following his trip to the Caribbean on March 27, 2025 https://www.state.gov/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-3/ when he disclosed that approximately 300 visas have been revoked consistent with this guidance and that he personally signs off on each revocation.
While consular officials have the authority to revoke visas, that authority is limited when applied to individuals inside the US—such revocations must be done by the Department, not by a foreign service officer at a consular post (hence, Seretary Rubio’s statement that he personally authorizes the revocations).
While visas may be revoked because of criminal activity in the US, the vast majority of the 300 revocations appear to be based on participation in pro-Palestine activities. The big question is what constitutes behavior that crosses the line? Obviously, expressing support for Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, would constitute grounds for revocation under the guidance. Other expressions of support for Palestinians may not indicate support for terrorism (e.g. expressing support for an independent Palestinian nation alongside Israel) and should not incur problems under the guidance. Sentiments in between those variations are harder to judge.
DHS/ICE Role in Process
How the State Department becomes aware of derrogatory information about visa holders appears to be based on information from other Federal agencies, particularly the Department of Homeland Security (specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Reports suggest widespread use of artificial intelligence to identify visa holder social media activity, as well as scouring of US arrest records (regardless of any prosecution). This information is being used to terminate SEVIS for student visa holders and effectively terminate their lawful status in the US. Such findings are then communicated to the Department of State, which is obliged to terminate the visa based on the DHS finding.