Recording for June 26, 2025 Conference Call with Rajiv S. Khanna
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FAQs: US Visa & Social Media: What you need to know about new screening policies and their impact
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US Visa & Social Media: What you need to know about new screening policies and their impact
Question details
I believe there was a proposal to include social media handles as part of certain visa/immigration applications. Do you know what the consequences of that are?
If one has deleted social media accounts they don't have access to or accounts they don't remember the details for would that negatively impact the application? Also, is it just public posts that get reviewed or do private messages/dms get reviewed also?
FAQ Transcript
As of June 24, 2025, the US Consulates have updated their policies for F (academic student), M (vocational student), and J (exchange visitor) visa applicants. The key requirements are:
Public Privacy Settings: All your social media accounts must have their privacy settings adjusted to "public" so that the consulate can review them.
Disclosure of Usernames: You are required to list all social media usernames or handles from every platform you have used for the last 5 years. This includes accounts, even if they have since been deleted.
Failing to comply with these requirements, including omitting social media information or keeping accounts private, could lead to visa denial. The new policy aims to facilitate vetting to establish identity and admissibility to the United States.
Rajiv's Comments in the News - Visa interviews for international students set to open, subject to review of social media accounts
Published by: The Times of India - June 20, 2025
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/visa-interviews-for-intern…
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Please sign PETITION FOR REISSUANCE within the usa of H-1, F-1, and other NONIMMIGRANT VISAS
I encourage you to sign a petition I have drafted at the request of our community urging the Obama Administration to reinstate reissuance of nonimmigrant visas (including work visas like H-1, student visas like F-1, and family visas) within the USA, a practice that was discontinued in 2004. If the petition receives 100,000 on-line signatures by February 23, the Administration will review it, send it to the appropriate policy experts in the administration, and issue an official response. Signing the petition takes only a few minutes.