US expands social media screening to I, TN and TD visa applicants from October 1

The United States is expanding its online presence screening for certain non-immigrant visa applicants, with three additional categories set to come under review from October 1.

The change will affect applicants for I, TN and TD visas, with foreign media representatives and professionals covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), along with eligible dependants, among those affected.

Under the new requirement, applicants in these categories will be instructed to set the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to "public" or "open" to facilitate the screening process. The US State Department announced the expansion on September 18.

Three more visa categories added to screening

An I visa is issued to foreign media representatives, including people working in the press, radio, film and print industries, who are travelling temporarily to the US for work related to their media role.

TN visas are available to eligible professionals who are citizens of Canada or Mexico and are seeking temporary entry to the US for qualifying employment under the USMCA. TD visas are issued to the fiancés, spouses and unmarried minor children of TN visa holders.

For Indian applicants, the I visa is the category most directly relevant. Indian citizens are not eligible for TN status because the category is limited to qualifying Canadian and Mexican citizens.

The State Department said it uses information from available sources as part of its visa screening and vetting process. It said the process is intended to help identify applicants who may be inadmissible, including those considered a threat to national security or public safety.

The department's announcement does not provide a separate list of specific posts that applicants must delete or avoid. It also does not say that a particular type of social media post will automatically result in a visa refusal.

Online presence checks already apply to several visa categories

The October 1 change is an expansion of an existing online presence review rather than a new requirement for every US visa applicant.

The State Department already applies the review to several categories, including F-1 and M-1 students and their dependants, J-1 exchange visitors and their dependants, H-1B workers and certain H-4 dependants, as well as applicants in several diplomatic, cultural exchange, religious and humanitarian-related categories.

The department's March 2026 announcement expanded the review to additional categories, including A-3, C-3 domestic workers, G-5, H-3, H-4 dependants of H-3 holders, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T and U visas.

The latest move therefore adds I, TN and TD applicants to a screening framework that has been expanded in stages since 2025.

What the change means for Indian applicants

For an Indian journalist or another eligible media professional applying for an I visa, the practical change is that social media accounts will have to be set to "public" or "open" from October 1 as part of the online presence review.

The State Department has not said that the expansion changes the basic eligibility requirements for these visas. Applicants will still have to meet the requirements of the visa category for which they are applying.

The department says it relies on available information during visa screening and that applicants must establish their eligibility for the requested visa and demonstrate that they intend to comply with the terms of admission.

The requirement to provide social media identifiers is also not entirely new. The State Department has requested social media identifiers from most US visa applicants worldwide since 2019, when the information was added to visa application forms.