The US now requires F, M, and J visa applicants—including Sri Lankans—to set their social media accounts to public. The move aims to tighten national security by increasing digital transparency for all nonimmigrant visa applicants.
Sri Lankans applying for U.S. student and exchange program visas are being urged to make their Facebook and other social media profiles public as part of a new visa security requirement introduced by the United States. The updated policy, which applies to F, M, and J nonimmigrant visa categories, is designed to help U.S. authorities conduct more thorough identity verification and national security checks.
According to U.S. officials, this requirement supports a longstanding commitment that “every visa decision is a national security decision.” Since 2019, visa applicants have been required to submit their social media handles on both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications. However, this latest development goes a step further by encouraging applicants to manually adjust their privacy settings to public visibility.
The move has triggered suspicion among Sri Lankans and others globally, raising concerns about privacy and surveillance. Nevertheless, the U.S. emphasizes that all publicly available information is used solely to assess the eligibility and potential risks posed by applicants seeking to enter the country.
This change directly affects students, cultural exchange participants, and other nonimmigrant visitors, making social media transparency an unofficial prerequisite to visa approval. The updated directive calls for applicants to double-check their social media account settings and ensure they are accessible to authorities during the vetting process.
U.S. consular authorities reaffirmed that the screening process remains comprehensive and that digital footprints are a critical part of assessing potential security threats.
