In the Trump administration’s latest move towards social media vetting for US visa applications, the US Embassy in India on Monday directed all applicants for F, M, and J non-immigrant visas—covering academic, vocational, and cultural exchange visitors—to make all their social media profiles public, “effective immediately”.
This includes social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok, sparking concerns across a wide number of students preparing for the autumn intake (September-November).
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According to the US Customs and Border Protection, a non-immigrant visa is a temporary one, as opposed to an immigrant visa used for settlement. While F and M non-immigrant visas are for academic and vocational students, J visas apply to cultural exchange visitors.
This decision is the latest in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students—as well as the universities enrolling them—following pro-Palestine protests on American campuses last year, in which international students had been involved too.
The US State Department had earlier said that consular officers would be on the lookout for posts, messages or affiliations that may suggest anti-American sentiment or ties to banned organisations that could indicate “hostility toward the US”, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles, as per an Associated Press report.
Applicants who don’t comply—or whose profiles remain private—risk outright refusal of their visa applications .
“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the Embassy post has said.
With the additional digital vetting expected to stretch consular resources and slow down processing times, students will now face prolonged wait times for a decision.
While some commenters criticised the move’s impact on the US First Amendment (freedom of speech) rights, others requested clarification on how the US might perceive applicants with no social media accounts, or even how long was the account to be kept public. Few even celebrated the development.
Privacy advocates and civil rights groups have also raised concerns that the new vetting policy could seriously curb free speech, especially for those expressing political views or criticism of America’s foreign policy.
Foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the total student body at almost 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023.
