U.S. Department of State Pauses Student and Exchange Visitor Visa Appointments

Last week, an internal U.S. Department of State (DOS) correspondence pertaining to visa processing for international student and exchange visitors in the F, M, and J visa classifications was leaked and published by various media outlets, including Politico. The released cable—which has yet to be publicly discussed by the DOS—announced that no new visa appointments will be scheduled for any F, M, or J visa classification applicants while consular posts evaluate operations and processes to expand social media vetting for such applicants. We do not know how long this pause will last, and it is not yet clear whether this new policy also applies to family members of F, M, and J visa applicants in dependent visa classes (i.e., F-2, M-2, J-2). Further guidance from the DOS is hopefully forthcoming. Please note that existing appointments that have already been scheduled are operating as planned without impact, at least for now.

While we await further information, new visa appointments for F, M, and J visa applicants may not be available. Even those applicants who have already attended their interviews or have interviews scheduled may experience delay in visa processing as a result of these new social media vetting guidelines. Therefore, all individuals in these statuses should give very careful consideration to international travel, and those abroad waiting for these types of visas should also consider the impact, if any, on their situations due to delayed visa operations. Employers and schools will also want to consider and understand the impact, if any, that this pause will have on their operations and the personal impact on affected employees and/or students.