US expands visa social media checks to three more categories from October 1

The US will extend its online presence review to applicants for I, TN and TD visas from October 1, requiring them to make all their social media profiles public, the State Department said in a notice updated on September 18.

The expansion covers foreign media representatives, professionals under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and their dependants. It adds these applicants to a screening process that already covers several student, worker and exchange visitor visa categories.

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What are I, TN and TD visas?

The I visa is for foreign media representatives travelling temporarily to the US for work, including journalists and people working in radio, film and print. Their activities must involve information or education, generally news gathering and reporting, for a media organisation headquartered outside the US.

The TN category allows eligible Canadian and Mexican citizens to work temporarily in specified professional occupations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Applicants must have a prearranged job and meet the qualifications for their profession. Permanent residence in Canada or Mexico alone does not qualify someone for this category.

The TD visa is for spouses and unmarried minor children accompanying or joining a TN professional in the US. Unlike TN eligibility, eligibility as a dependant is not restricted to Canadian and Mexican citizens.

What changes from October 1?

Applicants for I visas, which cover foreign media representatives, and TN and TD visas, which cover USMCA professionals and their dependants, will face reviews of their online presence.

“To support this vetting process, all applicants for I, TD, and TN nonimmigrant visas are instructed to set the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public’ or ‘open,’” the department said.

The department said it draws on all available sources during visa screening to identify applicants who may be ineligible to enter the US, including those who could pose national security or public safety risks.

Which visa categories already face these checks?

The screening already applies to F-1 and M-1 student visa applicants and their F-2 and M-2 dependants. It also covers H-1B and H-3 applicants, H-4 dependants of those applicants, and J-1 and J-2 exchange visitors.

Other covered categories include A-3 and G-5 visas, along with C-3 applicants who are domestic workers.

The existing framework also covers K-1, K-2 and K-3 visas; Q visas for international cultural exchange participants; R-1 and R-2 visas for religious occupations and dependants; and S, T and U categories for witnesses, informants and victims.

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“Every visa adjudication is fundamentally a national security decision,” the department said.

It said applicants must demonstrate that they qualify for the visa they seek and intend to follow the conditions of their admission. Officials also assess whether applicants intend to harm Americans or threaten US interests.

“Receiving a U.S. visa remains a privilege granted at the government's discretion, not an entitlement,” the department said.