The U.S. State Department has resumed processing international student visa applications but with a significant new condition that all applicants must make their social media accounts public for enhanced vetting. The move marks a stricter approach to screening under national security grounds.

Officials have been directed to scrutinize social media activity for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.” Those who choose to keep their accounts private may risk denial, as it may be interpreted as an attempt to hide their online behavior, according to the department.

This new guideline applies to all categories of student visas, F visas for academic students, M visas for vocational students, and J visas for exchange visitors. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that these rules will be applied universally across all applicants.

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“It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day,” a senior State Department official said, defending the policy.

Visa officers have also been instructed to flag applicants who "advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence." The measure comes amid broader political tensions over student activism and elite academic institutions in the United States.

This heightened surveillance follows a temporary halt in visa processing in late May and forms part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to monitor foreign influence and political activity among students on American campuses.