U.S. State Department Resumes Issuing Student Visas for Foreigners... "Make SNS Accounts Public"

SNS Monitoring Required for All Visa Applicants
"Visa May Be Denied if Accounts Are Private"

On June 18 (local time), the U.S. Department of State announced that it will resume the issuance process for entry visas for foreign students and trainees, which had been temporarily suspended.

According to the Associated Press, the State Department stated in an official notice released that day that it is formally withdrawing the suspension of student visa procedures that had been in place since May.

However, the State Department noted that students applying for new visas may be denied if they do not allow access to their social networking service (SNS) account posts.

The State Department said, "Under the new guidelines, consular officers stationed at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide will conduct comprehensive and thorough reviews of all student and exchange visitor visa applicants."

It added, "Maintaining private accounts or refusing to allow review may be regarded as an attempt to evade requirements or conceal online activities. To facilitate this review, applicants are required to set the privacy settings of all SNS accounts to public."

According to internal guidelines, consular officers will focus on identifying any expressions or posts that are hostile toward U.S. citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding ideals.

Previously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed all diplomatic missions around the world at the end of last month to temporarily suspend scheduling interviews for student and exchange visitor visas, citing preparations to introduce a screening system based on SNS.

While visa issuance is the prerogative of a sovereign state, there is a possibility of controversy over the United States?where the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression?using foreigners' past SNS posts as criteria for visa screening. Some point out that if visas are denied based on unclear standards and SNS posts, the attractiveness of the U.S. in the competition to attract international students could be diminished.

The Associated Press reported, "With this announcement, full-scale scrutiny of SNS accounts is expected to become a new gateway in visa screening," and added, "Some are also raising concerns about potential infringements on freedom of expression."