Student visa applicants must make social media accounts public, says US

The F category visa (F-1) is issued to students who want to pursue academic studies; M category visa (M-1) to those who want to pursue vocational or other non-academic studies; J category visa (J-1) to those who want to teach, study, conduct research, or receive on-the-job training for periods ranging from a few weeks to several years.

Last month, the US administration had asked its embassies to stop scheduling appointments for student visas as it expands scrutiny of applicants’ social media posts.

Announcing the resumption of student visa interviews on June 18, the US State Department said applicants would have to make their social media profiles public for the consular officers to be able to vet them — and allow entry or “inadmissibility” accordingly. This effectively means their posts on social media and any political views which are considered adverse could decide if they can pursue education in the US.

It said it would uphold “the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process”. Saying “a US visa is a privilege, not a right”, it said: “We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the US, including those who pose a threat to US national security. Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J non-immigrant classifications.”

The US Embassy said this rule is mandated for all countries, and that since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms.

In 2023-24, Indian students formed the largest cohort of international students in the US, with 3.31 lakh enrolments. Of these, 1.96 lakh — nearly 60% — were pursuing postgraduate degrees.

In 2023, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas — more than in any other country in the world, setting a record for the third year in a row. In 2024, 86,110 F-1 student visas were issued to Indians.