Quick Takeaways
- U.S. Department of State advises it will resume appointment scheduling for F, J, M Visa Applicants
- All Applicants must make social media feeds public
- Preliminary injunction permits Harvard to continue to enroll foreign national students through Student Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”) while litigation challenging SEVP revocation remains pending
- Other limitations for F, J, M Applicants from certain countries remain in effect
Approximately 3 weeks after announcing its cessation of scheduling appointments for new F, J, or M Applicants, the U.S. Department of State advised that it would re-open its calendar for students, scholars, and other exchange visitors seeking visas at consulates abroad. Anecdotally, appointment availability appears sparse, meaning eligible F, J, and/or M Visa Applicants should move quickly to secure an interview slot in advance of upcoming summer, fall, or even winter programs.
When going through this process, the Department of State will require all F, J, and M Applicants to make their social media profiles open to the public, thereby enabling State to conduct the full-scale audit of online activity it cited as the impetus for last month’s pause. Interestingly, this development comes more than 6 years after Trump 1.0 first started requiring all immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants to disclose their social media use over the preceding 5 years. At that time, DOS provided similar rationales for making these demands while facing stern objection on First Amendment grounds, while also assuring that State would limit these social media inquiries to public-facing expressions. Due to recent events, though, the Administration now deems it necessary to require F, J, and M Visa Applicants alone to compromise their free speech rights to an even greater extent than its more-than-a-half-decade-old requirement already did.
On a brighter note, the end of last week saw a Federal Court in Massachusetts issue a preliminary injunction to halt the Trump Administration from implementing recent actions targeting Harvard University. The Administration is likely to appeal the injunction and therefore Harvard’s reprieve may be brief; but in the meantime, the Order prohibits the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from ceasing Harvard’s Student Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”) certification and its access to the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (“SEVIS”). Likewise, the Order affirms that neither DHS nor DOS should take any negative action towards not only the University, but also the foreign nationals seeking to participate in an SEVP-qualifying program at Harvard as an F, J, or M nonimmigrant. That being said, an F, J, or M Visa Applicant from 1 of the 19 countries listed in the entry ban from earlier this month, amongst others, will continue to face limitations whether they are trying to attend Harvard or any other SEVP-certified institution.
If you have any questions regarding your F, J, M, or other nonimmigrant visa or status, please do not hesitate to contact our office to speak with an immigration attorney.
