Embassy to start screening your social media posts

Starting March 30, 2026, the US embassy will screen and vet applicants’ “online presence” for many non-immigrant categories. The purpose is to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security or public safety. Those visa applicants cover practically the entire alphabet:

• students and exchanges (F, M and J)

• specialty workers and their dependents (H-1B and H-4)

• fiancé (K-1)

• personal employees of diplomats (A-3, C-3 and G-5)

• trainees (H-3)

• religious (R-1 and 2)

• informants, witnesses and victims (S, T and U).

However, it is most likely that every visa applicant, whether immigrant or non-immigrant, would be subject to having their social media platforms and postings reviewed by the US government. Visa applicants are instructed to change their privacy settings and profiles to “public” on all their social media platforms to enable the embassy to review their postings.

Since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to provide their social media usernames on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms. The visa applicant must list all their social media usernames, handles or identifiers for every platform they have used in the last five years. Failure to list a social media account or information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for a future visa, with a person possibly being charged for “fraud” by misrepresenting or concealing a social media account. The purpose of this vetting is to determine a person’s eligibility to receive a visa.

The US government views eligibility for a visa as a national security decision and wants to make sure that anyone applying for admission to the US does not intend to harm Americans and/or our national interests and to make sure these applicants intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.

Most likely, the US government is screening social media accounts and postings for anti-American material, such as posting in support of terrorist organizations, “death to America” or other pro-terrorist leanings.

But social media postings can also affect other visa applications or eligibility. For example, if you are being petitioned by a US citizen spouse, but you are posting selfies of your vacation with a boyfriend or girlfriend, that may not bode well for your eligibility as a loving spouse of a citizen. If you are applying for a visitor visa but are posting about the job that’s waiting for you in the US, that could also pose a problem for eligibility.

The bottom line is that the Trump administration has made it clear that people coming to the US must be thoroughly vetted. President Trump has made a big point about how the Biden administration allowed millions of people to pour across our border without them being properly vetted and without knowing what their political ideology is and whether they intend to do harm to Americans.

The bottom line is a visa is a privilege, not a right, and if your social media accounts show anti-American leanings, it may result in a visa refusal.

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