The U.S. Embassy in Manila has announced a new requirement for Filipino applicants of F, M, and J non-immigrant visas: all social media accounts must now be set to public.
The directive, currently in effect, is part of the U.S. government’s initiative to enhance identity verification and security measures in the visa application process.
“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 under U.S. law,” the embassy said in an advisory posted on Facebook.
Since 2019, visa applicants have been required to submit their social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms. However, the embassy now emphasizes that accounts must be publicly viewable to allow US authorities to conduct more thorough background checks.
Failure to comply with the updated guidelines will affect visa eligibility. Applicants are reminded to ensure that all submitted information is accurate and complete.
What do you think of the US Embassy’s new directive on publicly viewable social media accounts? Share your thoughts below.
