Kenyan students wishing to study in the United States may be in jeopardy after President Donald Trump stopped processing visas for foreign learners.
Trump's administration on Tuesday, May 27, directed its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants as it plans to adopt social media vetting for foreign students.
In the new development communicated through a diplomatic cable, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump's administration plans to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange program applicants.
"The Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants," the cable said.
Further, Rubio directed that visa appointments that had already been scheduled proceed under the current guidelines.
However, those wishing to apply or were in the initial stages of application were dealt a major blow as Rubio ordered them to be pulled down immediately.
Even so, the move is expected to put Kenyan students with hopes to study in the US in limbo. This includes those who had received scholarships or were on self-sponsorship.
The expanded social media vetting will require consular sections to modify their operations, processes and allocation of resources, according to the cable, which advises the sections going forward to take into consideration the workload and resource requirements of each case before scheduling them.
The latest move comes amidst Trump’s hardline stance on foreigners, with his administration enforcing stricter rules for immigrants. This has resulted in a rise in the cases of deportations, with many foreigners in the US affected.
It also follows Trump’s ongoing feud with some of America’s elite universities, which he has criticised for not aligning with America’s interests.
This escalated to the US government revoking Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students in a move that was set to affect Kenyan students.
Trump’s administration directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, meaning Harvard would no longer be allowed to enrol foreign students.
However, a US judge later issued orders temporarily halting the revocation, providing a much-needed relief for international students at the Ivy League institution.
