Applying for a US Student Visa? Your Socials Need to be Public

It’s part of an “expanded screening and vetting” process 

Ever dreamed of getting into Harvard Law School (what like it’s hard?) or just experiencing the US college experience?

Well, if you’re applying for a student visa to study in the US you’ll need to make your social media accounts public to get that visa.

The US Department of State have released a statement letting anyone who is potentially applying for an F, M and J nonimmigrant visa that they should make their social media accounts public.

This change will mostly impact student and exchange visitor applicants in these classifications.

“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 nonimmigrant classifications,” a statement released on 21 June by the US Department of State on X (formerly Twitter) said.

“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public.’

“…The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”

The same or similar statements have been put out by different US embassies around the world including in Mexico and India.

The good news is, according to the US Embassy in Australia, student visa applicants can still complete their online visa forms, pay their fees, create their profiles and find an available appointment online.

There isn’t any additional information regarding making your social media private or public other than applicants are “required” to.

If you are a student applying for a visa to study in the US, you can check www.ustraveldocs.com/au/en or https://travel.state.gov/au for more information.