No US visa if social media account private: Trump administration's diktat for for foreign students
PTC News Desk: In a significant development for applicants seeking US visa, Trump administration has issued a fresh diktat for foreign students. The US Embassy in India on Monday urged all student visa applicants to make their social media accounts public for background checks.
"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 the public to facilitate the vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law," the US Embassy in India posted on X.
Earlier Trump administration had made social media vetting mandatory before issuing visas to monitor anti-American activities of foreign national which they described as a threat for national security.
Social media vetting involves scrutinising an applicant's online activity to assess their eligibility for entry. American officials will review the social media profiles of prospective students to determine whether they should be allowed to study at US institutions. This involves reviewing social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, and others.
USING SOCIAL MEDIA DATA TO IDENTIFY VISA APPLICANTS WHO ARE INADMISSIBLE: EMBASSY
The US says it wants to use social media data in visa vetting to "bolster national security".
"Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms. We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security," the Embassy added.
- With inputs from agencies
