Overview

• The State Department directed consulates worldwide to stop scheduling new F-, M- and J-visa interviews until updated guidelines for evaluating applicants’ social media are issued.
• This suspension follows earlier measures targeting Harvard University, including freezing $2.2 billion in federal research funding, revoking its certification to enroll international students and threatening its tax-exempt status.
• A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the administration’s order barring Harvard from admitting new foreign students, and the university has filed further legal challenges.
• Officials announced plans to revoke visas for Chinese students suspected of ties to the Communist Party or work in sensitive research areas and to tighten vetting of all future China and Hong Kong applications.
• University leaders caution that prolonged visa restrictions risk harming campus budgets and global standing, prompting Germany, Japan and others to invite displaced applicants.