NEW YORK: In the wake of the Trump administration's decision to halt scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants, the United States has asked foreign students to frequently check to see when those spots might open, saying it's something that would happen perhaps 'sooner than later'. The Trump administration is ordering US embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants as it is considering social media vetting of foreign individuals looking to study in America.

"So 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," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a briefing. Bruce was responding to a question on when can the appointments be expected to open back up.

"So if you've applied for a visa, and you want to, please do. Then if there's no -- if you're not getting an appointment, just -- there's an online system. You continually recheck to see when those spots might open," she said. "I can't tell you immediately after some undetermined moment of an action, but I can tell you that it's something that would happen perhaps sooner than later," she added.