The US State Department has indicated that a global suspension of visa processing for international students would be brief, as it increases scrutiny of applicants' social media activity.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Thursday encouraged prospective students to seek visa appointments and said: "I would not be recommending that if this was going to be weeks or months."
"I can tell you that it's something that would happen perhaps sooner rather than later," she told reporters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered embassies and consulates to pause scheduling appointments for student visas pending new guidelines on checking applicants' social media posts.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed consular sections to pause scheduling appointments for F, M, and J visa categories while a review of current screening processes is underway.
Secretary of State says students linked to the Communist Party or sensitive fields will be targeted.
New guidance on social media vetting
It is one of a series of moves by President Donald Trump's administration targeting education, which has rescinded thousands of visas, sought to ban Harvard University from accepting any international students, and pledged to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.
Rubio has revoked visas for many students who led demonstrations critical of Israel's genocide in Gaza, invoking an obscure law that permits the removal of individuals deemed to oppose US foreign policy interests.
In his cable to diplomatic missions earlier this week, Rubio said new guidance on social media vetting would be issued in the "coming days".
Bruce said that prospective students should start checking online for when appointments become available.
"Right now there might be some delay, and what I'm told to encourage people to do is to regularly check to see when those spaces open," she said.
