Indian students bare their digital souls to win US visas

Time of India

4 days ago

New Delhi: If you want to study in the land of the brave, and the home of the free, forgo your (social media) privacy. And most Indian students applying for US colleges are willing to make their social media accounts public to fulfil their dreams to study in the US, experts say.
This will impact them as most are on at least one of the social media platforms like X, Instagram, TikTok, or Linkedin. According to the US embassy's X post on Monday, Indian students applying for visas to study in US colleges will now have to make their social media accounts public by changing the privacy settings.
Making the social media accounts public is one of the measures among many, either introduced or reinforced, in the last few months impacting Indian students either studying or considering studying in the US.
These restrictions include further tightening of student visa rules; heightened scrutiny of students' records, including social media posts; student and exchange visitor information system (SEVIS) record glitches; and increased scrutiny at ports of entry.
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Over 95% of students enrolled with IDP (a study abroad platform) are fine making their social media profiles public. "Rest 4-5% are considering going to other countries like the UK, Canada and Australia," said Piyush Kumar, regional director, South Asia, Canada and Latin America, IDP.
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F-1 is a student visa to study in an accredited US college, J-1 is an exchange visa for participation in an exchange programme, while M-1 is student visa for non-academic or vocational study or training in the United States.
Students with strong intent to study in the US are not changing their plans due to social media vetting, experts said.
Students have been required to provide their social media account details in visa applications for several years now. "But for the first time, they (students) are being asked to make their profile settings 'Public'," said Kumar.
"Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media accounts to public to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law," stated the US Embassy post.
"I've worked so hard on my profile - academics, research, community work - but now I have to audit every tweet and post I've ever made," one such student applying for a Master of Science to UC Berkeley (Fall 2025) told ET. "Though it feels like I'm being judged for more than my merit, still I'm not giving up. I'll do whatever it takes to achieve my dream to study in the US."
"We have not seen and do not believe that this will reduce the interest of students going to the US," said Rajneesh Pathak, founder of immigration and investment advisory firm, Global North Residency and Citizenship.
He added that no other country has asked for this. "But usually all countries independently do a 'World Check' which includes social media and the internet," Pathak said.
According to Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder, Collegify, the US is no longer just reviewing your application - "it's reviewing you. Other countries might assess risk, but none require digital transparency at this level," said Khandelwal.
Nevertheless, many students have started cleaning up their digital footprint like never before.