The US has 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 is aimed at strengthening identity verification and vetting under US immigration law and is effective immediately.
The update was posted on Monday by the US Embassy in India on X.
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
June 23, 2025These visa categories typically cover academic students, vocational students and exchange visitors — groups that include a large number of Indian applicants each year.
This comes at a time of heightened global tensions, particularly in West Asia, following the flare-up in the Iran-Israel conflict over the weekend.
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.
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