US embassy tells student visa applicants to make social media profiles public

All Indians applying for student visas or exchange visitor visas to the United States now need to make their social media profiles public, the US embassy in India said on Monday.

The instructions were for F, M and J category of non-immigrant visas. The F visa is for academic studies, M for vocational training and J for cultural exchange.

The change, effective immediately, is aimed at enabling background checks during the visa screening process to establish applicants’ “identity and admissibility" to the US, the embassy said.

The US has required visa applicants to submit social media identifiers since 2019, the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

“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,” it added.

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… pic.twitter.com/xotcfc3Qdo— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 23, 2025

The directive follows the recent US announcement to resume student visa appointments.

On Wednesday, the State Department directed US embassies to restart visa processes. However, it had stated that applicants...

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