US begins additional vetting for anyone seeking visa to travel to Harvard

The US Department of State on Friday ordered all US embassies and consulates worldwide to "immediately begin additional vetting" for anyone seeking a visa to travel to Harvard University for "any purpose."

According to a diplomatic cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seen by local media, the "additional vetting" comprises "a complete screening of the online presence" of the applicants, and "such applicants include, but are not limited to prospective students, students, faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers, and tourists."

The word "any" is underlined with bold font in the passage, while the cable states that the screening applies to "any" nonimmigrant visa applicant for "any" purpose.

The cable instructs US consular officers to have applicants who are otherwise eligible for a visa to set their social media accounts to public and then refer their cases to the Fraud Prevention Unit, who should conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of each such applicant, including social media activity ... and more generally any online presence, to identify possible inadmissibilities.

"The enhanced vetting measures described in this guidance aim at ensuring that consular officers can appropriately identify such visa applicants with histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence, and to duly consider the visa eligibility under US immigration law," the cable states.

The move is an escalation of the Trump administration's feud with the Ivy League institution as it applies to more than just students, local media claimed. It will also serve as a pilot for expanded social media screening and vetting visa applicants across the board.

The US government on Tuesday suspended scheduling new interviews for student-visa applicants, saying it was considering requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting.