The United States on Monday announced a new requirement for all individuals applying for F, M, or J non-resident visa: they have to adjust the privacy settings on all their personal social media accounts into ‘public’. The move aims to increase national security through more intensive veating processes.
“Each visa assistant is a national security decision. All individuals applying for effective, F, M, or J non-migrant visas are requested to adjust privacy settings on all their personal social media accounts, which facilitates the necessary veting required to establish their identity and acceptance in the United States,” a post in India.
In a follow-up slide in the same post, the embassy stated that the US already needs all visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on both immigrant and non-migrant visa forms. It states that this data is used in visa screening and veating processes, which are meant to identify those who can pose a threat to American national security and therefore will be considered unattainable.
All persons applying for immediate effective, F, M, or J Non -Migrant Visa are requested to accommodate the privacy settings on all their social media accounts to facilitate the vying required to establish their identity and acceptance for the United States … pic.twitter.com/xotcfc3qdo
– American Embassy India (@USANDINDIA) June 23, 2025
This change occurs between the US government imposing a new travel ban, which now completely banned citizens of 12 countries and partially banned seven others. These restrictions cover access to non-immigrant visas, including tourism, education and employment, and are considered to be a high risk for security and terrorism related concerns with the purpose of Middle East and Africa countries.
However, Indian citizens are not affected by the new travel ban. Despite the ongoing tension in some parts of the Middle East, the US has clarified that India is not in the list of countries facing sanctions. The applications of Indian citizens are processed in categories including B1/B2 tourist Visa, H1B Work Permit and F1 student visa.
India, now the largest source of international students in the US for the first time since 2008-09, was beaten by more than 3.31 lakh students enrolled in American universities in 2024.
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