List All Social Media Handles From Last Five Years: US Embassy To Indian DS-160 Visa Applicants
Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas, the US Embassy said.
The US Embassy in India has introduced a new rule requiring all applicants for DS-160 visas to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used in the last five years on the application form. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas, it said on Thursday.
The DS-160—online non-immigrant visa application form—is for temporary travel to the United States, and for K (fiancé(e)) visas. It is submitted electronically to the Department of State website via the Internet, as per official website.
The update, aimed to ensure national security, was posted on Thursday by the US Embassy in India on X.
"Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form. Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas," it stated.
Earlier on June 23, the US introduced a new rule requiring all applicants for F, M, or J non-immigrant visas to set the privacy settings on their personal social media accounts to 'public'. The move was aimed at strengthening identity verification and vetting under US immigration law and is effective immediately.
US authorities have been collecting social media identifiers as part of visa applications since 2019. The latest step escalates scrutiny by requiring applicants to allow public visibility of their online profiles.
The rule is part of broader efforts to identify individuals who may be inadmissible to the US, including those deemed a potential threat to national security, the post said.
