Nigeria, May 28 -- The US government has suspended the scheduling of new interviews for student visa applicants worldwide as it considers strict vetting of applicants' social media profiles.

The directive was issued by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in a cable sent out to diplomats worldwide on Tuesday, according to Politico.

This means that US embassies in Nigeria and many other countries will stop setting up new interview appointments for people who want to apply for student visas, such as the F-1 visa.

Although this is only temporary, during this period, no new applicants will be able to schedule an interview, which is a required step in the student visa process.

Mr Rubio, however, ordered that interviews that have already...