Indian Student Denied US Visa For Not Declaring Reddit Account

An Indian student’s F-1 visa was recently rejected by the US visa authorities after he failed to declare his Reddit account on the DS-160 form. This visa denial comes weeks after the US State Department ordered all applicants to adjust privacy settings on all their social media profiles to “public,” sparking widespread debate and concern on social media.

Sharing his ordeal on Reddit, the distraught student informed netizens that the US visa officer had asked him about his Reddit account, which he forgot to mention during the interview process. Even though he explained that the account was public and had no offensive posts, the officer went on to issue him a 221(g) slip.

Expressing confusion in his Reddit post, the student wondered if a possible technical issue may again prevent the visa officer from viewing his account, potentially resulting in a final denial of his visa application.

A 221(g) slip does not mean final visa rejection, but it is only a notice stating temporary refusal of a visa pending further action. It requires applicants to meet specific requests before the processing of their visa applications continues. In this case, the officer demanded the applicant make all his social media accounts ‘publicly viewable.’

On June 23, the US State Department issued a notice mandating that all applicants for F (student), M (vocational), and J (exchange visitor) non-immigrant visas must make all their social media accounts since 2019 public. The State Department authorities claimed that the directive will enhance the applicants’ identity verification and national security vetting. “Holding a US visa is “a privilege, not a right,” and visas could be revoked even after issuance if applicants are later found in violation of US laws.

The latest order marks a significant tightening of scrutiny of visa applicants who must disclose details of their social media handles since 2019 while applying for a student visa. This comes amid increased immigration enforcement policies and monitoring by the federal agencies.