US TO SCREEN SOCIAL MEDIA OF MORE VISA APPLICANTS FROM OCTOBER

The United States Department of State is expanding its online presence review to cover three additional categories of nonimmigrant visa applicants from October 1, 2026. The new categories are I visas for foreign media representatives, TN visas for eligible professionals from Canada and Mexico, and TD visas for qualifying dependants of TN visa holders. Applicants in these categories will be required to make all their social media profiles public or open to facilitate the screening process.

The department said the expanded review is part of its broader visa screening and vetting system, which uses available information to determine whether applicants meet the requirements for admission to the United States. The government said the process is also intended to identify applicants who may be inadmissible, including individuals considered to pose national security or public safety concerns. The new requirement was announced in an update issued on September 18.

Under the new arrangement, I visa applicants will include qualifying representatives of foreign media organisations travelling to the US for professional activities. TN visas are available to eligible Canadian and Mexican professionals entering the country temporarily under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while TD visas cover eligible spouses and unmarried children of TN professionals. Applicants in all three categories will be expected to ensure that their social media profiles can be accessed as part of the online review.

The latest expansion does not introduce social media screening into the US visa process for the first time. The State Department has already applied online presence reviews to several categories, including F and M student visas, J exchange visitor visas, H-1B and certain related temporary worker categories, as well as several other visa classifications. Most visa applicants have also been required for years to provide social media identifiers as part of the broader information collected during the application process.

The department said the additional screening is intended to support its assessment of visa eligibility and compliance with US immigration requirements. From October 1, applicants for I, TN and TD visas will therefore join the other categories already subject to the expanded online presence review. The State Department has instructed affected applicants to set their profiles to “public” or “open” and said the measure forms part of its wider vetting process before visas are issued.