Published on: Sep 21, 2026, 18:43:40 IST By Shweta Kukreti Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Starting from October 1, international media professionals, Mexican and Canadian specialists, and their family members accompanying them will be subject to compulsory examination of their public social media profiles during the US non-immigrant visa application process.
Starting October 1, media professionals and their families applying for US non-immigrant visas must publicly share their social media profiles. (AI Generated/Grok) The US Department of State has declared an extension of its compulsory digital presence evaluation, incorporating I, TN, and TD visa designations into standard online assessment procedures.
Individuals applying within these classifications must configure their privacy parameters on platforms including LinkedIn, X, and Instagram to "public" or “open” status to enable consular review and clearance before admission.
3 category visas for social media vetting The recently introduced categories address particular populations functioning with provisional authorization: I Visas: Provided to international media professionals — encompassing international journalists, correspondents, and production teams — who enter the United States for journalistic endeavors or instructional media operations representing foreign entities.
TD Visas: Issued to spouses and unmarried dependent children accompanying principal TN visa recipients.
Social media checks now required for certain US Visa applicants The Department of State asserted that all visa determinations constitute inherent national security assessments, characterizing this expansion as an essential initiative to detect potentially excludable persons who could represent a danger to public welfare or national security.
Diplomatic personnel shall examine publicly accessible conduct to confirm that such activity aligns with official records and that candidates exhibit authentic commitment to adhering to visa requirements.
Since 2019, the US government has solicited social media identifiers on application documentation.
The mandate for mandatory public disclosure represents an extension of preexisting policy measures that already mandate evaluation of H-1B specialty occupation workers, F-1 and M-1 academic students, J-1 cultural exchange participants, and multiple diplomatic and humanitarian visa categories.
Immigration specialists observe that although no definitive catalog of restricted material has been distributed, this mandate introduces supplementary procedural complexity.
The heightened administrative responsibility associated with examining publicly available digital communications is anticipated to extend official processing durations, potentially resulting in diminished availability of appointment times and unforeseen postponements affecting news organizations and multinational enterprises relocating staff to the US.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shweta Kukreti Shweta Kukreti has over 8 years of experience in covering Indian and world politics.
She joined the Hindustan Times in 2024 and is primarily assigned to the US desk.
She currently works as Deputy Chief Content Producer and reports on a wide range of topics, including US politics, immigration issues (especially H-1B visa) and major global events.
Shweta strongly emphasizes team operations, which encompasses monitoring news, delegating tasks, editing, developing comprehensive coverage strategies, and crafting engaging, and data-informed narratives.
She received the Digi Star Award at the Hindustan Times within a year of joining for her broad coverage of US politics.
In 2025, she earned both a promotion and a redesignation, a significant achievement recognising her contributions and the strong value she brings to the team.
She has previously worked with the Indian Express, HTDS, ANI and Republic World.
Seniors in all the media organisations recognised her work.
Regarding education, she earned a BA (Hons.) in Political Science and a master's degree from Delhi University, and she pursued a PG Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institution of Mass Communication (IIMC).
She also holds a diploma in Women's Empowerment and Development from IGNOU University and a French certification course from Alliance Française de Delhi.
If not working, you can find her exploring the hills and engaging in adventurous activities in Rishikesh and Himachal Pradesh.
She loves to play badminton, volleyball, and chess, and spend time with her friends and family.
