The US Embassy in India has issued a clear warning for visa applicants. “Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the embassy said in a post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter). The post reminded visa applicants to disclose all social media usernames or handles they’ve used over the past five years while filling out the DS-160 visa application form. “Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form” the post read. “Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit.”

The requirement is part of broader vetting procedures introduced by the US State Department in recent years. Under the updated rules, applicants must list IDs used on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others—even if the accounts are no longer active from the last five years.

New rule for F, M, and J non-immigrant visa applicants

This comes days after the US government issued a new guideline for those applying for student and exchange visitor visas. Applicable to all applicants of F, M, and J non-immigrant visas, the new rule requires these applicants to set their social media accounts to public. “Effective immediately, 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 US embassy in India wrote in an X post.F, M and J visas are the common types of non-immigrant visas issued by the agency to foreign nationals who wish to study or participate in exchange visitor programs in the U.S. F visa is typically used by academic students, the M visa by vocational students, and the J visa by exchange visitors, including researchers, scholars, and interns.