KARACHI: The United States consulates in Karachi and Lahore have informed Pakistani applicants for F, M, and J non-immigrant visas that they must make their social media accounts public for vetting purposes. This move follows similar instructions issued by the US Embassy in New Delhi earlier this week.
The US consulates emphasized that effective immediately, applicants for these visa categories must adjust their social media privacy settings to “public” to assist with the identity and admissibility verification process. This directive stems from a policy introduced in 2019, which requires visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on their application forms.
The F and M visas are for students, while the J visa is for exchange visitors. The consulates warned that failure to provide social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future US visas. The stricter social media vetting follows the resumption of student visa appointments by the Trump administration, which had previously paused them due to concerns over new vetting strategies.
This move has sparked criticism, particularly regarding its potential to target certain political viewpoints, including opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
