Trini students in panic over US visa social media policy

Students and student-athletes from TT have begun to panic as their hopes of studying in the US appear to be in jeopardy.

This growing concern follows a directive from the US State Department on May 27 instructing embassies and consulates worldwide to temporarily halt new appointments for student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants.

The temporary pause, the State Department said has been implemented as part of an effort to "expand social media screening and vetting" for prospective student visa applicants.

According to data from Open Doors, a data resource on international educational exchange, specifically focusing on international students and scholars in the US and US students studying abroad, 1,126,690 international students went to the US to study in 2023/24 which accounted for 5.9 per cent of all students.

In the 2022/23 academic year, the US welcomed 1,057,188 international students, representing 5.6 per cent of the total student population.

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers told Newsday on May 31 by telephone that he would need to request the number of nationals that have gone to the US to study in the last two academic years.

According to data from the US Homeland Security Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) Numbers Reports TT had 1,977 students studying in the US in 2023. In 2022, the number of TT nationals studying in the US was 1,800.

Tertiary Education and Skill Training Minister Prakash Persad said this situation can be a potential benefit for local universities.

"They can expand their offerings to encourage more students to study here. This can be facilitated by have more linkages with foreign universities."

Students in limbo

Newsday interviewed students across the country who did not want to be named for fear of jeopardising their chance to study in the US.

A 19-year-old who has been accepted to a university in Florida said he may have to explore alternative options owing to this setback.

"I’m not very happy about this, as it's now harder to pursue education in the US."

Asked how he felt about his social media being screened, he said, "I am personally somewhat comfortable, as I don’t really have anything to hide.

"I still am a bit concerned simply for privacy and people's right to express their opinions freely."

He questioned to what degree will personal opinions affect the US student visa process.

Asked why he chose the US as his option to further his studies he sited the proximity to TT and affordability.

The student, who hopes to pursue mechanical engineering, had not yet had the opportunity to apply for his student visa, as he has been occupied with his Cape examinations.

He said he now has to look into other options, such as UWI, schools in the UK, Europe or Canada.

Another 18-year-old student who was accepted to a Missouri university said he was really excited for the opportunity, but is now frustrated to learn about the halt in visa appointments.

"I’ve been working hard towards studying in the US and this just adds more uncertainty to the process. It's stressful.

"I’ve already been accepted into the university and I’ve been working on preparing everything for the move. Not knowing when or if I’ll get a visa appointment makes it hard to plan anything.

It could delay everything, and I’m worried I might miss out on the chance to start this year."

Asked how he felt about his social media being screened, he said, "I understand the need for security, but it still feels a bit invasive.

"I try to be careful about what I post, but knowing someone is digging through your social media adds extra pressure. It’s like you’re being judged beyond your academics. I am not fully comfortable with the idea."

He too hopes to pursue mechanical engineering and said the US was always his top choice.

"The quality of education and the opportunities to grow both academically and personally. The university I was accepted to in particular, stood out because of its mechanical engineering program and scholarship support.

"I’m also involved in sports like cricket and taekwondo, so I was hoping to continue developing in those areas too."

He said he did consider Canadian and UK universities as back-up options.

"They too do have good schools and the visa process seems more stable. But my heart is set on the US because I really believe it offers the best path for me, academically and professionally."

He is holding on to the hope that he will be able to start school in the Fall semester.

He too did not get the opportunity to apply for his US student visa because he was writing Cape examinations.

A 20-year-old student-athlete considers herself lucky, as she got her student visa the day the US State Department gave the instruction to consulates and embassies worldwide to stop all appointments for student visas.

She said though she got her student visa, she is a bit fearful when she has to go to the US.

"This has me a bit paranoid for when I do actually have to leave. I am not comfortable considering the political and social climate of the country right now."

She too is not totally comfortable with her social media being screened.

"Even though I try to be careful about what I post, it still feels like an invasion of privacy. I worry that something I say could be misunderstood or taken out of context, especially considering cultural differences.

"I want to feel free to express myself without the fear that my words could affect my visa status."

The 20-year-old said she chose to study in the US to further her sports career as well as to further her education.

Nothing truly deleted

A cybersecurity expert and the owner of the Computer Forensics and Security Institute Shiva Parasram said it is normal for governments to have measures in place to monitor social media activities.

He said Pegasus Spyware – developed by Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group – is used internationally to monitor activity on mobile devices.

In 2023, then US president Joe Biden signed an executive order to prohibit operational use by the US government of commercial spyware as it posed a risk to national security or which has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses around the world.

It is unknown which spyware will be used to monitor the social media accounts of potential international students.

Parasram said depending on the agreements the US government has with Meta and other internal agencies will determine what can be found.

"Even if you try to delete something, nothing is ever truly deleted. They will have backup servers of everything, everywhere.

"I can very much expect people will delete accounts, posts and other stuff, but they will already have things in place."

Asked how ethical this practice was by the US, Parasram said, "What we think might not really matter because it depends on what you signed up for.

"Remember when you sign up for these applications, you have a terms and conditions agreement. Depending on what's there, they always have something stating that you must be guided by local laws and jurisdictions. It just depends on what you agree to when you sign up, which nobody ever reads."