Thousands of African Students Could Be Affected by U.S. Government Plans to Tighten Visa Process

"Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued [in a separate telegram], which we anticipate in the coming days," a cable signed by U.S. state secretary Marco Rubio read, according to Politico. The directive doesn't halt already scheduled visa interviews.

The Trump administration has made it a priority to go after international students in its tough immigration crackdown, as well as in its targeting of universities deemed too liberal or accommodating to student protests over Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

For prospective African students, in particular, a tightening of the visa process could increase the number of student visa rejections by the U.S. According to reports, while 40,000 students were admitted, over 57 percent of student visa applicants from Africa were rejected in the 2023 fiscal year, a three percent increase from the previous year. In early April, Chris R. Glass, a professor at Boston College, shared in a Substack post that there are now approximately 130,000 fewer international students in the U.S., representing an over 11 percent decrease from last year's numbers.

Glass cited visa revocations and travel restrictions as reasons for the drop. However, the impact of the Trump administration's crackdown will only be fully felt in the coming months, especially as enrollment for the new session approaches in the fall. African students have consistently faced tight visa processes, with rejection rates over the last decade hovering between 45 percent and 60 percent. The numbers could be higher, as the U.S. government is taking a tough stance on student exchange programs.

Harvard University has filed a lawsuit challenging the recent order by the U.S. government barring it from enrolling international students. The Donald Trump-led administration also ordered that thousands of international students must transfer out of Harvard or risk being removed from the country.

In its lawsuit, Harvard said the Trump administration's order violates the First Amendment, calling it an unconstitutional retaliation, after the revered higher learning institution refused to acquiesce to demands from the government related to sharing international students' information. The government has demanded records of campus protests, which the institution refused. Harvard said the order will have an "immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders."

"With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard."

The order, if it stands, could affect thousands of African students enrolled at Harvard and hundreds more hoping to study at the institution. According to The African Exponent, Harvard hosts "about 30-40 percent" of the 56,780 students from sub-Saharan Africa enrolled in American higher education institutions in the 2023/2024 session.

Many Africans studying in the U.S. have been disillusioned by the Trump administration's crackdown on international students. According to reports in late April, over 600 international students and recent graduates had their visas revoked. Many of the revocations were reportedly related to participation in pro-Palestine protests against the war in Gaza, while others were for minor crimes.

The targeting of international students, particularly for being critical of Israel's war in Gaza, has been a priority for the Trump administration. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate with a green card, was arrested in New York for participating in pro-Palestine protests. Plainclothes immigration agents arrested Turkish-born Fulbright Scholar and Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk in Massachusetts for writing an op-ed about Gaza. Both were taken to detention facilities in Louisiana.

"If you apply for a student visa to come to the United States and you say you're coming not just to study, but to participate in movements that vandalize universities, harass students, take over buildings, and cause chaos, we're not giving you that visa," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said back in March.

An African student studying in the U.S. told OkayAfrica earlier this year that many African students were keeping away from anything political to keep their visa status, but she was skeptical that it would be enough. "We cannot pretend that staying quiet will protect us. It's their time, but at some point, it will be our turn, too," she said. The order for international students to transfer out of Harvard might be proof, as African students at Harvard will either need to change schools or leave the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security has accused Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators" to harass many Jewish students. It also alleged that the institution is working with the Chinese Communist Party and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as last year.

This story was originally posted May 23 at 5:39 p.m. and has been updated.

May 28, 5:02 p.m. Updated to include the halting of international student new visa interviews.