Accessing U.S. Education as an International Student in Light of Recent News

On May 22, the Department of Homeland Security headed a move to revoke Harvard University’s right to accept international students on F and J student-class visas under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The following day, the university filed a formal lawsuit challenging the legality and validity of these actions. The court has already issued a temporary restraining order, suspending the ban in favor of Harvard’s right to educate international students, with a hearing set for tomorrow, May 29.

Yesterday, on May 27, 2025, the State Department directed U.S. embassies worldwide to halt scheduling student visa interviews, pending the implementation of expanded social media screening for all international applicants. This order should be understood as both a “backup” plan, in case the dispute between the administration and Harvard does not result in the departure of international students from Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, MA, and at the same time as an extension of the dispute with universities around international students to all universities, even those that have no specific standing dispute with the administration. 

First, we want to underscore and clarify that even the administration presents this as a short-term measure only, while new screening processes are rolled out. Second, we want to ensure that all our readers understand that this does not affect any students who already have appointments scheduled. Should this measure withstand legal challenges and actually be implemented meaningfully in the medium term, we share with our readers two very reasonable concerns: 1) it will probably lead to some delays and an increase of stress during the visa application process – an already stressful process for international students! and, 2) the content of the directive creates confusion for students, families, and their advisors around social media practices. We are confident, however, that aspiring international students will be able to understand the most relevant implication: posts, likes, and other reactions on social media will be examined going forward. In the simplest light, we have always encouraged all students to be mindful of any content they put out on social media! Common sense and good choices that were already important for personal safety, emotional wellbeing, and anticipated screening by potential employers can simply be extended to one more area of life.

Many U.S. universities are already actively working on contingency plans to support international students, including preparing to offer legal and administrative assistance, as well as flexible and alternative enrollment options, such as hybrid and online learning, to accommodate the new challenges that the administration has created for international students. Although these backup plans are unlikely to be needed, we wanted to reassure you that university administrations are always looking several steps ahead!

At Hermiona Education, we remain committed to defending access, fairness, and opportunity for international students. We also stand by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which protects freedom of speech and assembly, while recognizing that speech that incites political violence is both illegal and morally wrong. We wish to remind our readers that U.S. university culture – professors, students, and campus life in general – is robust, with a history of emerging even stronger after fraught political times in the past (e.g., through the ideological clashes with faculty and then dynamics around protests in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively). Although these are challenging times for anyone contemplating beginning boarding school or university life, we are boldly optimistic that the outcome will be a reinvigoration of an American campus tradition embodying First Amendment freedoms, intellectual depth, academic excellence, respect for all students’ personal safety, and internationalism of perspectives.