US embassy in PH asks visa applicants to set social media accounts to 'public'

The US Embassy in Manila asked those who are applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa to set their social media accounts privacy settings to public, saying this is a necessary step in the United States government’s vetting process.

“Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa 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,” the US Embassy said on Tuesday. 

“Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms,” it added.

An F non-immigrant visa is granted to individuals wishing to pursue academic studies at a US educational institution. An M non-immigrant visa is for individuals pursuing vocational or non-academic studies at a US institution, while a J non-immigrant visa is for individuals participating in designated exchange visitor programs, often involving cultural or educational exchange.

“We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the US, including those who pose a threat to US’ national security,” said the US Embassy. —VAL, GMA Integrated News