US Makes Social Media Disclosure Mandatory for Visa Applicants

US President Donald Trump is serious about anti-Semitism protests, which he says would lead to security problems in America. To avoid any trouble from the international students, the Trump administration has asked visa applicants to reveal their social media usernames or handles on each platform they have used in the last five years. The visa adjudication is being said to have been taken up as a national security decision.

In a statement, the US Embassy in India shared the information and particularly cautioned against ‘omitting’ social media information, as it could result in visa denial and ineligibility for future visas.

Posting the statement on X, the US embassy posted: “Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form. Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit.” The communication continued, “Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas.”

The US Embassy asked those applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa to switch the privacy settings of their social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting by the officials concerned which has been made mandatory to establish their identity and admissibility to the US under law.

The embassy had also said since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to provide ‘social media identifiers’ on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms. F or M category is for student visas while the J category is for exchange visitor visa.

The Embassy also attached two related digital posters in the communication. “Every U.S. visa adjudication is a national security decision,” read the caption on the top of a poster followed by a note, which read: “The United States requires visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on visa application forms. We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting.” The decision comes in the wake of the immigration crackdown in California’s Los Angeles recently.

On June 24, the embassy’s statement said that the US had increased enforcement of immigration laws, and warned violators that they can face detention, deportation and permanent consequences for future visa eligibility.

The US further warned that those entering the country illegally would face jail time and deportation.

The US Embassy had said the US had ‘established new visa restrictions’ targeting foreign government officials and violators.