No US visa if your social media profile isn't public: Embassy warns Indians

Indian students applying for US F, M, or J visas must now make their social media profiles public for screening, the US embassy has said

Planning to study in the US? You’ll now have to make your social media accounts public before your visa interview. The US embassy in India has said that all applicants for F, M, or J non-immigrant visas—including students and exchange visitors—must ensure their social media profiles are set to ‘public’ to enable background checks.

 

“Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to public to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law,” the embassy said in a post directed at student applicants on Monday.

 

This follows the resumption of F-1 student visa processing after a brief suspension. But with the restart comes tighter scrutiny.

 

Social media vetting already in place since 2019

 

The embassy said social media checks are not new, but the change now is that students must make those profiles publicly visible.

 

“Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms. We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security,” the post read.

 

What Indian students should keep in mind

 

Education experts say visa success increasingly depends on how consistent and transparent students are—both online and offline.

 

“A key reason behind the success of applicants is the authenticity of the application and the intent that they are able to communicate to the visa officers. Therefore, students are advised to be honest and clear about their academic background, journey and goals,” Piyush Kumar, regional director (South Asia, Canada and Latin America) at IDP Education told Business Standard.

 

“Consistency and transparency help establish credibility. Applicants must ensure that the visa application forms are filled out accurately and reflect the same information shared during the interview and on their social media platforms,” he added.

 

What you should do

 

Make all social media profiles public before applying for the F, M or J visa

• Ensure your application, interview answers, and online activity match

• Do not post anything that contradicts your stated reason for travelling

• Keep academic and career intentions clear and factual across platforms

 

The US embassy has reiterated that holding a visa is not a right and that visas can be revoked if a person is found to be in violation of the law, even after arrival.