By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Trump administration has directed applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas, covering academic students, vocational students, and exchange visitors, to make their social media accounts public for vetting.
The requirement, aimed at bolstering national security, took effect at US consulates in Karachi and Lahore on Thursday, following a similar rollout at the US Embassy in Delhi earlier this week.
“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,” the consulates said in Instagram posts uploaded on Thursday.
The consulates also reminded applicants that since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on their application forms. Applicants must include social media identifiers and account handles for each platform they use.
“Omitting social media information on your application could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future U.S. visas,” the consulates warned.
The new requirements are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to strengthen national security. On Wednesday, the administration ordered the resumption of student visa appointments but mandated stricter social media vetting. This follows a May 27 directive in which the administration instructed US missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visas, as the State Department prepared to expand social media vetting of foreign students.
An internal State Department cable, dated June 18 and reviewed by Reuters, instructs US consular officers to conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” of all student and exchange visitor applicants. The goal is to identify those who “bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” The cable was sent to US missions on Wednesday, June 25.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that updated guidance would be released following a review.
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