- State officials indicate an update on the Trump administration’s controversial freeze on new student visa appointments will come in a matter of days.
- No details on extent of appointment backlog, as international education stakeholders express concerns about incoming students’ ability to get a visa on time.
- Government insists no existing visa appointments have been cancelled since the pause, despite contradictory reports from NAFSA.
In a press briefing on June 3, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said there would be an update on the pause in student visa interview scheduling “before the end of the week”.
“The original cable indicated it was going to be a matter of days,” said Bruce, adding that it was a matter of making sure embassies and consulates are “prepared” and that “all things were in order”.
“This is not a never-ending dynamic, and we are looking at… an update in a matter of days,” Bruce told reporters.
Studyportals CEO, Edwin van Rest, said that the news was “tentatively positive” in a post on LinkedIn, though given recent actions of the administration, stakeholders are reticent to celebrate and will be watching closely for the department’s next move.
What’s more, Bruce said that once new visa appointments resume, the process will “go pretty quickly”, but gave no details of the length of the backlog.
According to the Presidents’ Alliance, more than half of admitted students who’ve accepted offers to US colleges still haven’t been able to book an interview, with the organisation expecting backlogs to continue even after scheduling reopens.
“This is one of the busiest times of year for international students trying to secure appointments … so even if things restart soon, we’re likely looking at a ripple effect of delays and disruptions,” the Alliance’s deputy director of federal policy Zuzana Cepla Wootson told The PIE News.
Initially on May 27, the state department sent a cable to consulates announcing the freeze while it prepared for “an expansion of required social media screening and vetting”, telling embassies to expect further guidance in a matter of days.
To this day, visa scheduling remains halted, and stakeholders have expressed concerns about the growing backlog and the danger that students due to start in summer or fall 2025 may be unable to get a visa in time to pursue their studies.
More than half of admitted students who’ve accepted offers still haven’t been able to book an interview
Zuzana Cepla Wootson, Presidents’ Alliance
In the meantime, the State Department instructed consulates on May 29 to immediately begin the enhanced social media screening of Harvard applicants for anti-semitism in what it said was a pilot project that would be “expanded over time”.
What remains to be seen is how quickly they will roll out the screening processes and whether it will mirror what is already being applied to students and faculty who plan to travel to Harvard.
“When this returns, we’re going to see that appointments are going to be able to be made. It’s not like it’s a time block that can’t be returned,” said Bruce, giving no further details about when this could be or the size of the backlog.
Bruce maintained that no appointments had been cancelled or eliminated from availability during the ongoing freeze, contradicting reports from the US’s association of international educators, NAFSA, on May 30 of some visa interviews being cancelled.
Notably, NAFSA also reported that some students had received visas since the pause was announced, as the freeze specifically relates to the scheduling of new visa appointments.
Making matters worse, said stakeholders, is the lack of clear information: “There’s been little guidance or communication from the government, which only heightens anxiety – especially now, during a really critical time in the admissions season,” said Wootson.
“And this isn’t happening in a vacuum,” she added, highlighting the administration’s SEVIS terminations and visa revocations that have created “a lot of fear” among international students, “pushing” them to more welcoming and transparent countries.
“For international students making big, often life-changing decisions, uncertainty like this can be a dealbreaker,” said Wootson, adding that the US was risking its “competitiveness and long-standing leadership in higher education, research and innovation”.
The state department is yet to respond to The PIE News’s request for further details.
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