Non-immigrant US visa applicants told to set socmed accounts to public

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MANILA, Philippines — All non-immigrant visa applicants are now required to set their social media accounts to public, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines announced on Tuesday.

In an advisory posted on X on Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines said this request applies to all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa.

These types of visas are all used by individuals coming to the U.S. for educational or cultural exchange purposes.

Both F and M visas are for students while exchange visitors use J visas.

“[They] are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States,” said the embassy.

Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant 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 U.S. national security,” the embassy explained.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department said it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas, but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review.

The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or founding principles.