In a dramatic shift in US immigration policy, the State Department on June 5, 2025, issued a directive halting visa approvals for students bound for Harvard University, including those on exchange programs—part of President Trump’s tighter immigration enforcement push. When a federal court temporarily blocked the move a day later, the department resumed processing those visas but imposed additional scrutiny, such as probing applicants’ social media footprints. Experts warn that with broad discretionary power in visa denial—often without explanation—many students could remain mired in indefinite “administrative processing” with little visibility into their case status.