The United States consulates in Karachi and Lahore instructed all Pakistani applicants for student and exchange visas to make their social media accounts public to facilitate vetting procedures.
Applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas have been asked to adjust privacy settings on all social media platforms to “public” with immediate effect.
The move follows a similar advisory issued by the US Embassy in Delhi earlier this week.
According to the consulates’ social media posts, the United States has required visa applicants to provide their social media identifiers since 2019. They warned that failure to share accurate social media information could lead to visa denial and possible future ineligibility.
“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,” read a post on the Instagram page of the US Consulate Karachi.
“Attention students: Since 2019, U.S. visa applications have required applicants to provide social media identifiers. Recently, there have been updates to these requirements. Before applying, please review the latest guidance to ensure you’re following current protocols,” it further said.
This directive comes after the Trump administration issued an order on June 18 to resume student visa appointments with additional screening requirements.
An internal State Department cable, cited by Reuters, instructed consular officers to conduct “comprehensive and thorough vetting” to identify individuals perceived as holding hostile attitudes toward US values or institutions.
F and M visas are issued to students, while J visas are for participants in exchange visitor programs. The May 27 order from the administration had temporarily halted new appointments, pending rollout of enhanced social media checks.
