The United States has resumed processing student visas after a temporary pause in May, but with a new twist that has left thousands of Indian aspirants concerned. Under the latest policy introduced by the US State Department, all visa applicants must now provide access to their social media profiles during the screening process. This includes disclosing active handles and ensuring profiles are set to public.

The new rule, designed to detect any anti-American sentiment, terrorism links, or antisemitic behaviour, has raised serious questions about privacy and subjectivity. Even light-hearted posts or memes that poke fun at US culture may be interpreted as "hostile" depending on the discretion of consular officers. Indian students, who make up the largest group of international students in the US, are feeling the pressure to sanitize their online presence.

Students voiced a concern shared widely across applicant communities: the growing burden of social media scrutiny. Many pointed out that they were already anxious about funding, deadlines, and documentation, and now, they also have to worry about old tweets from years ago. In response, students are conducting digital audits of their online presence, deleting potentially controversial posts, deactivating unused accounts, and ensuring that their social media profiles appear neutral and professional.

What’s adding to the stress is the ambiguity of the new guidelines. They remain vague, offering consular officers broad discretion in their interpretation.

In a post on X, the official handle of the U.S. Embassy in India (@USAndIndia) shared the announcement stating, "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States."It also reiterated that since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms.The post added: "We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security."

Students applying for US visas should:

With Indian students contributing over $40 billion to the US economy, the stakes are high. The policy aims to tighten security, but its impact on free expression and personal privacy is undeniable. Students must now walk a fine line between authenticity and caution to keep their study-abroad dreams alive.