Immigration Reporter Daily Dawn + Dawn TV Report
ISLAMABAD: US consulates have instructed US non-immigrant visa applicants to make their social media accounts public for vetting.
On Thursday, US consulates in Karachi and Lahore asked all F, M or J non-immigrant visa applicants to make their social media accounts public for vetting, following similar instructions issued by the US embassy in Delhi earlier this week.
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday ordered the restoration of student visa appointments, but at the same time significantly tightened social media vetting to identify applicants who may be hostile to the United States, according to an internal US State Department cable seen by Reuters.
The June 18 cable, sent to U.S. missions on Wednesday, said U.S. consular officers must now conduct “comprehensive and thorough screening” of all student and exchange program applicants to identify individuals who “hold hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
In posts uploaded to Instagram today, U.S. consulates said: “Effective immediately, all individuals applying for F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas are requested to set the privacy settings of all their social media accounts to ‘public’ to allow for the necessary verification of their identity and eligibility for entry into the United States.”
It added that since 2019, the U.S. has required visa applicants to provide their social media platform names and account handles on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms.
The consulate warned. “Failure to provide social media information on your application may result in visa denial and ineligibility for future U.S. visas.”
The F and M visas are different types of student visas, while the J visa is a nonimmigrant visa for individuals who have been approved to participate in exchange programs in the United States.
On May 27, the Trump administration ordered its missions abroad to stop granting new appointments to student and exchange program visa applicants, saying the State Department was expanding social media screening of foreign students.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said new guidelines would be issued as soon as the review is complete.
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