US President Donald Trump's administration has paused new foreign student interviews at embassies and consulates around the world as it weighs requiring the vetting of applicants' social media histories.
The directive, first reported on by Politico, was sent to US diplomatic and consular posts abroad and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
If the administration goes through with the plan, it could severely slow down student visa processing, and ultimately hurt universities that rely heavily on foreign students' tuition fees.
In 2023-24, the US hosted an all-time high of 1.1 million international students. About 90,000 are from the Arab World, according to estimates, while more than 300,000 are Indian.
Consular officers have, since March, been required to conduct mandatory social media reviews looking for evidence of support for “terrorist activity or a terrorist organisation”, which could be as broad as showing support for the Palestinian cause, according to The Guardian, quoting a department message.
"It seems to be such a controversial thing that’s going on, but it shouldn’t be, and every nation should take seriously … who’s coming in, so if you’re going to be applying for a visa, follow the normal process, then all the steps, expect to be looked at and we go on from there," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
"It is a goal, as stated by the President and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio, to make sure that people who are here are here and understand what the law is, that they don’t have any criminal intent, that they are going to be contributors to the experience here, however short or long their stay is."
Critics warned that the move is likely to make bright foreign students look elsewhere for their studies.
“The Sergey Brins of the world came as students and did wonders for the US economy,” Raghuram Raja, former Reserve Bank of India Governor, told Bloomberg TV, pointing to one of the founders of Google.
He warned that squeezing foreign students could impact job growth, noting that companies like Google employ thousands, thanks in part to immigration-linked talent pipelines.
Last week, business tycoon Kevin O’Leary, a Trump ally, recommended a vetting process for foreign students, while praising them for intellect and patriotism.
“These students are extraordinary individuals, and they don’t hate America,” he told Fox Business.
Campus crackdown
US immigration authorities announced last month that social media activity perceived to be anti-Semitic, as well as the "physical harassment of Jewish" people, would be grounds for denying applicants visas and permanent residency.
Since Mr Trump returned to office in January, his administration has taken aim at foreign students who participated in campus pro-Palestine protests that swept the country last year. The State Department has revoked hundreds of student visas so far and Mr Rubio has said that more are still to come.
Universities that saw large protests, such as Columbia in New York, have come into the administration's crosshairs.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked federal agencies to cancel contracts worth about $100 million with Harvard University.
The government has already cancelled more than $2.3 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has opposed the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies.
A draft letter from the General Services Administration, first reported by The New York Times, directs agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternatives. The administration plans to send a version of the letter on Tuesday, AP reported.
Mr Trump said on Monday that he was considering rerouting $3 billion in grants to trade schools.
The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, AP reported, quoting an administration official.
The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health results related to energy drinks, and a contract for graduate student research services.
The letter is the latest move by Mr Trump to end the long-standing relationship between the US government and Harvard, which he has accused of engaging in discriminatory admissions practices, promotion of liberal bias and allowing the proliferation of anti-Semitism.
So far, his administration has moved to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Harvard and banned it from admitting foreign students – ordering all enrolled foreign students to find courses at other universities or leave the country. A judge has since issued a temporary stay on the ban.
“We are still waiting for the foreign student lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of billions of dollars, how many radicalised lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our country,” Mr Trump said on social media.
The DHS has demanded that Harvard turn over files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and documents related to “dangerous or violent activity”.
Harvard has said it complied, but the agency claimed its response fell short, leading to the ban on foreign student enrolment. The university has filed lawsuits to unfreeze the funding and remove the ban.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducatly%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohmmed%20El%20Sonbaty%2C%20Joan%20Manuel%20and%20Abdelrahman%20Ayman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducation%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%242%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEnterprise%20Ireland%2C%20Egypt%20venture%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20HBAN%2C%20Falak%20Startups%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
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The five pillars of Islam
More from Neighbourhood Watch
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Hugo Lebouc (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
2pm Handicap (TB) Dh 84,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Karaginsky, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Sadeedd, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
3pm Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner Blue Sovereign, Clement Lecoeuvre, Erwan Charpy.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Bladesmith, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 68,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
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Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
More coverage from the Future Forum
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
