US EditionStudent Visa Applicants Required to Make Social Media Accounts Public
UNITED STATES, JUN 20 – The US will require public social media profiles from all student visa applicants as part of enhanced screening aimed at national security, affecting over 1.6 million international students annually.
- On June 18, 2025, the U.S. State Department announced new requirements for F, M, and J visa applicants to make all social media profiles publicly accessible.
- This policy follows a pause on student visa interviews in May and increased scrutiny due to national security concerns and past visa revocations of thousands of international students.
- Consular officers must vet applicants’ online content for hostility toward U.S. citizens, culture, government, or principles, affecting students from over 100 countries including large groups from India and China.
- Approximately 446,000 student visas were issued in 2023, with Indian students comprising about 30%, while applicants express anxiety over privacy and visa delays due to the new public social media rule.
- The resumption of visa interviews under stricter guidelines may slow application processing and impact international student enrollment, which supports many U.S. universities financially and academically.
31 Articles
31 Articles
State Dept. Tells Student Visa Applicants To Set Their Social Media Profiles To ‘Public’ If They Want To Come To The US
Way back in the day of EARLIER THIS YEAR, people could expect to be subjected to warrantless, invasive device searches only at US borders and international airports. Visa applicants, however, just needed to fill out some paperwork and wait for permission to head abroad to find work and/or continue their education. Now, you don't even…
US visa applicants must make social media accounts public
Applicants for three types of non-immigrant visas to the United States must set their social media accounts to public mode as part of the submission process now in effect, the US embassy in Thailand said on Monday.
Trump administration demands foreign students make social media accounts public
The State Department announced on Wednesday that it will consider online presence in the selection process for F, J, and M nonimmigrant visas — the international student and visiting scholar visa categories — and instructed applicants to make their social media profiles public. The Bechtel Center said in an email sent to international students on Thursday that “this may be important information especially for [students] who will be traveling ou…
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