The United States has introduced a new visa screening measure that will take effect on October 1, requiring India-based media professionals to keep their social media profiles public or open as part of the screening process. The State Department said applicants must set the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public” or “open”.
The process will cover individuals applying for I, TN and TD visas under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as well as their dependents.
The latest announcement, issued on September 18, broadens the scope of online presence checks that are already part of the visa screening process for several categories of applicants, including students, temporary workers, exchange visitors, and religious workers.
The department said visa applications are assessed using “every available source of information” to determine whether an applicant could be inadmissible to the US. This includes screening for individuals considered a potential risk to national security or public safety.
“Every visa adjudication is fundamentally a national security decision,” the department said.
It also stressed that applicants must establish that they qualify for the visa they are seeking and demonstrate a genuine intention to comply with the conditions attached to their admission to the US.
“Receiving a US visa remains a privilege granted at the government's discretion, not an entitlement,” the department said.
Who will be affected?
The expanded online presence checks will come into effect from October 1 and apply to applicants in three additional visa categories:
I visas — issued to foreign media representatives
TN visas — for eligible professionals from Canada and Mexico taking up temporary work in the US under the USMCA
TD visas — available to the spouses and children of TN visa holders
People applying under these categories will be required to make their social media accounts public or open for review.
The new categories join several visa groups that are already subject to online presence screening. These include F-1 and M-1 students; H-1B, H-3 and certain H-4 temporary workers and dependants; J-1 and J-2 exchange visitors; K-1, K-2 and K-3 fiancé and dependant visas; Q cultural exchange participants; R religious workers; and S, T and U visa applicants. Certain diplomatic and official visa categories are also covered
US expands visa scrutiny
The move to broaden social media checks comes as the US makes wider changes to its immigration and visa processing procedures.
A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that visa appointments were being modified to allow time for the required training.
“Whenever there are updated instructions for visa applicants or changes to visa interview appointments, embassies and consulates communicate this information directly to visa applicants,” the spokesperson told Reuters.
The wider pause is notable given the volume of immigrant visa interviews conducted by US embassies and consulates worldwide each year. Many of these interviews involve family members of US citizens or permanent residents.
The US issued approximately 600,000 immigrant visas in 2024, according to a Reuters report.
