US resumes student visas, orders applicants to make social media public

The United States government has announced it will resume student and exchange visitor visa processing but with a new requirement that all applicants must make their social media profiles public for vetting.

In a statement released by the US Department of State on Wednesday, authorities said applicants for F (academic), M (vocational), and J (exchange) nonimmigrant visas will undergo more intensive screening, including a review of their online presence.

“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. 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.

“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 statement read.

The department noted that a US visa is “a privilege, not a right,” and that visa adjudications are national security decisions.

The US said overseas embassies and consulates would soon resume scheduling visa appointments for these categories, and urged applicants to check their local embassy websites for updates.

The new directive comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a suspension of student visa processing in May.