WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their .
The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles.
In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 鈥減ublic鈥� and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for hoping to study in the U.S. while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said.
Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year.
Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been refreshing visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume.
鈥淯nder new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,鈥� the department said in a statement.
鈥淭o facilitate this vetting鈥� applicants 鈥渨ill be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 鈥榩ublic,鈥欌�� it said. 鈥淭he enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.鈥�
In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 鈥渁ny indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.鈥�
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AP writer Albee Zhang contributed to this report.
Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
