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Department of State resumes F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa scheduling, with expanded social media screening

As of June 18, the Department of State has announced that it will resume appointment scheduling for student visas, including J-1 exchange visitor visas, and that these visa applicants will now undergo expanded social media screening. Please see the announcement for more details. 

It has also been reported that these changes will result in initial “refusal” decisions at the visa interview for all F, M, and J visa applicants, to allow additional time for social media screening. These are not final denials of the visa application. Upon receiving these initial refusals, J-1 visa applicants should wait for further contact from the consulate. The consulate may request additional information or documentation as part of the application process.

ISO expects that these changes will result in longer processing times for J-1 visa applications. We encourage UW units, and incoming and returning J-1 exchange visitors, to consider this processing time when planning their arrival in or return to the United States.

Recently-announced U.S. entry ban

On June 4, 2025, an Executive Order was issued that bans entry by nationals of certain countries into the United States. This entry ban goes into effect on Monday, June 9, 2025. Anyone who is inside the U.S. or has a valid U.S. visa stamp as of the date of the proclamation should not be affected; nor should scholars who hold citizenship in a second nation not listed in the executive order. 

ISO has checked their records and reached out by email to individual affected scholars to confirm whether they’re currently in the U.S. and recommend against future international travel. Please note that this outreach does not include scholars on other visas not sponsored through ISO (e.g. F-1 OPT, DACA, other EADs, or TNs processed at the border); to the best of our knowledge, there is no UW system that tracks both visa status and country of citizenship for those statuses. Please see Resources for UW’s Global Community for offices serving students and others on non-ISO-sponsored visas.

This change may impact the UW community as we engage in study, research and other University activities on campus and abroad. However, we remain dedicated to our mission as a global university and to providing a safe, secure and welcoming environment to all members of our community, no matter where they call home.

Department of State “pause” on F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa appointment availability

The following message was sent by email to all active and incoming J-1 exchange visitors sponsored by ISO on May 30, 2025:

News outlets have reported that the U.S. Department of State has temporarily paused visa appointment availability for F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad. Because there have been no official communications from the Department of State regarding this pause, we do not know its exact scope or when it will end. However, it seems likely that it will affect visa availability and processing times for any J-1 exchange visitor who:

  1. is currently outside the U.S.,
  2. needs a new J-1 visa stamp to enter or reenter the U.S., and
  3. has not already scheduled an interview at a U.S. consulate abroad.

ISO is therefore making the following recommendations for J-1 exchange visitors sponsored through ISO:

  1. If you have recently scheduled a visa interview at a U.S. consulate, you may want to contact the consulate to confirm that your interview is still scheduled.
  2. If you are in the process of applying for a J visa stamp but have not yet scheduled your interview, you will be unable to do so until this pause has ended; however, you should continue to check regularly for available appointments, since we don’t know how long the pause will last. 
  3. If you already have a valid, unexpired J visa stamp, you are free to travel internationally as long as you return to the U.S. before that visa stamp expires.
  4. If you are in the U.S. and do not have a valid, unexpired J visa stamp, you should not travel internationally unless your planned travel would be eligible for Automatic Visa Revalidation. 

We hope to be in touch with more information soon.