US Visa Rules: The US State Department has made it mandatory to make the social media privacy settings of applicants of the F, M, or J non-immigrant visas to be changed to ‘public’. The move, aimed to strengthen visa screening procedures, may see deportation or visa revocation of applicants if they fail to comply.
In a post on X, the US State Department announced the decision and said that the decision is effective immediately.
“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 under U.S. law,” it said.
Earlier on July 12, the US Embassy in India threatened to revoke visas and deport individuals who fail to comply with US laws and immigration rules.
“U.S. visa screening does not stop after a visa is issued. We continuously check visa holders to ensure they follow all U.S. laws and immigration rules – and we will revoke their visas and deport them if they don’t,” it said in a post on X.
US Visa social media requirements
The official X handle of the US Embassy in India also released a video explaining the social media requirements. It further said that using false information or omitting them can lead to visa denial.
“Applying for an F, M, or J Visa? Learn more about social media vetting requirements. Falsifying or omitting information can lead to visa denial and future visa ineligibility. If you have already submitted your DS-160, you can still edit it before your interview,” it said.
The announcement was earlier made on June 23 by the US Embassy in India, which announced that effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are required to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to ‘public’.
It also reiterated that since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms.
Meanwhile, the US government has also unveiled a sweeping new 2025 travel ban, barring nationals from 12 countries entirely and partially limiting visa access from seven others.
However, India is not in the list.