Pakistani applicants for F, M or J categories of non-immigrant visas were advised on Thursday by the United States Consulates in Karachi and Lahore to publish their social media accounts for vetting, according to a report.
The instructions followed similar counseling issued by the US Embassy in New Delhi earlier this week. The move came after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered resumption of student visa agreements, accompanied by significantly stricter social media vetting of applicants.
“With effect immediately, all persons applying for an F, M or J-not-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings of all their social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting needed to establish their identity and assumption to the United States,” the consulates said in an Instagram post.
The post stated that since 2019, the United States has demanded that VISA applicants provide identifiers on social media about immigrant and non-immigrant visa-applications. It added that applicants must fill out identifiers on social media and account handles for each platform on the application form.
F and M are different student visa types, while the J-Visa is a non-immigrant visa for individuals approved to participate in Exchange Visiting Programs in the United States. “To omit social media information about your application can lead to visa denial and unjustification for future US visas,” the consulate warned.
