Visa restrictions affect Chinese international students

The State Department will begin aggressively revoking the visas of Chinese international students, especially those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Concerns that China is using international students in research positions that undermine U.S. security led to the policy. It is uncertain how many visas the United States will revoke.

Human rights researcher Yaqiu Wang said China had used academics to do espionage and commit intellectual property theft in the United States. Nevertheless, she said in a X post, broad bans would hinder Chinese students and jeopardize the standing of the United States as a global leader.

Over 1 million international students are enrolled at U.S. universities, comprising 5.9% of total enrollment, according to the Institute of International Education. Chinese students make up 24.6% of all international students in the United States, according to the institute.

Rubio also issued a new visa restriction policy on Wednesday, expanding screening requirements for international students. Applicants now must undergo in-depth interviews at U.S. embassies in their home countries, along with social media screening.

International students expressed concerns about being able to continue their education now that visa interviews have been halted, according to posts on China’s social media platform RedNote. The new policy comes at an inconvenient time for many applicants who are trying to finalize arrangements for the start of the fall semester in August.

How does this affect the United States? International students contributed over $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. “The U.S. must protect the lawful rights and interests of international students from all countries, including China,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on X.