U.S. Tightens Student Visa Vetting: Public Profiles Now Mandatory
By Robert Barba | The Wall Street Journal
The State Department will review the social-media accounts of foreign student visa applicants, and applicants will be expected to have all social media profiles set to “public.”
“The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country,” a senior State Department official said.
Consular officers will be on the lookout for indications of hostility toward the United States. Failure by applicants to leave their social-media accounts open for public view will be seen by the State Department as an effort to evade or hide certain activity.
With the guidance now released, the department said the scheduling of visa applications could resume. Last month, the administr...
