Free speech under scrutiny: U.S. now demands foreign students share their social media posts to obtain visas

A new statement from the U.S. State Department confirmed that it will resume the processing of student and visiting scholar visas, but is adding in a new requirement for applicants.

For the first time, those applying for these student visas will need to set their social media privacy settings to ‘public’ to allow State Department officials to screen their online posts.

The statement reads: “To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public‘."

The new policy goes into effect immediately, although it’s not immediately clear exactly what officials will be looking for in applicants’ social media posts. The statement describes this new regulation as an attempt to identify those who “pose a threat to U.S. national security” and who has indicated “hostility” towards the United States.

The consular offices overseeing the visa application process will be tasked with trawling through the social media accounts. Already the Trump administration’s war on certain academic establishments has resulted in a drop in the number of students applying to come to the U.S. to continue their studies.

“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the statement continued. “The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests.”

In May the State Department initiated additional social media screening for Harvard’s student visas. POLITICO published a cable, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which called on consular officers to “conduct a complete screening of the online presence of any nonimmigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.”

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