Appointments for US student visa halted

The US State Department has ordered the suspension of student visa processing in the latest escalation of a Trump administration crackdown on foreign students criticised yesterday by China.

President Donald Trump's administration is seeking unprecedented control of the nation's universities, taking particular aim at foreign students by revoking visas and deporting some of those involved in protests against the war in Gaza.

A cable signed Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seen by AFP orders embassies and consulates not to allow "any additional student or exchange visa... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued."

The government plans to ramp up vetting of the social media profiles of international applicants to US universities, the cable said.

Rubio earlier rescinded hundreds of visas and the Trump administration has moved to bar Harvard University from admitting non-Americans.

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China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning yesterday said Beijing urged Washington to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those from China."

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students attend US universities, long viewed by many in China as beacons of academic freedom and rigour.

The sweeping US measures have resulted in foreign governments moving to snap up affected students, with Japan and Hong Kong urging local universities to take in more international applicants.

The suspension of visa processing came as Harvard students protested on Tuesday after the government said it intended to cancel all remaining financial contracts, Trump's latest attempt to force the institution to submit to unprecedented oversight.

Trump is furious at Harvard for rejecting his administration's push for oversight on admissions and hiring, amid the president's claims the school is a hotbed of anti-Semitism and "woke" liberal ideology.

A judge issued a restraining order pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for today, the same day as the university's graduation ceremony for which thousands of students and their families had gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Boston.