Trump 

The United States has announced a global suspension of new student visa interview appointments, dealing a blow to thousands of prospective international students, including many Nigerians, who are preparing to begin studies in American universities.

The abrupt policy shift comes as the U.S. government prepares to roll out stricter vetting procedures—specifically, a deeper review of applicants’ social media activity.

In a diplomatic cable sent Tuesday and obtained by Politico, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered embassies and consulates around the world to stop scheduling interviews for new F, M, and J visa applicants—the visa categories that cover international students and exchange visitors.

“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 visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” Rubio stated in the cable.

Who’s Affected?

The directive is expected to hit Nigerian students particularly hard. Each year, thousands travel to the U.S. for undergraduate and postgraduate education. With the fall semester looming, this pause puts future plans in limbo.

The freeze, however, does not affect appointments that have already been scheduled. Those interviews will proceed as planned, at least for now.

Why Now?
While the policy is being presented as a security precaution, critics point to broader political motivations. The move aligns with wider actions by the Trump administration, which has accused foreign students and some academic institutions of fostering what it calls “a culture of antisemitism” on campuses.

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The government has also escalated pressure on American universities over race-conscious admissions policies. Just last week, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll new international students after the school refused to hand over behavioral records of foreign enrollees. The agency simultaneously froze $2.3 billion in federal funding to the university.

Mounting Visa Revocations
These latest moves follow a wave of visa revocations. According to Premium Times report, nearly 600 international students across more than 90 institutions had their visas canceled or legal status terminated just last month.

A federal judge has since blocked further terminations while legal challenges play out in court, but the message from the administration remains firm.

“We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities. A visa is a privilege, not a right,” Rubio said in testimony before Congress last week.

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