US moves to expand vetting of social media for visa applicants

The US government reportedly plans to expand vetting of the social media accounts of visa applicants, including foreign journalists, as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted an article on Thursday on X by the Daily Signal that said the State Department is expanding its social media vetting to applicants for more types of visas.

The Daily Signal said it had obtained an internal memo outlining the plan, which would require visa applicants to change the settings on their social media accounts to “public” or “open.”

Asked by AFP about the report, a State Department spokesperson said  “the department is constantly reviewing and evaluating screening and vetting procedures worldwide to ensure that our visa process upholds the highest standards for US national security and public safety.”

“Online presence vetting is about applicants demonstrating their eligibility to receive a visa under US law and ensuring that no individual poses a risk to the safety and security of the United States,” the spokesperson said.

The United States already requires applicants for various categories of visas, including student visas, to make their accounts public.

The Daily Signal said it would now apply to foreign media representatives and some nationals from Mexico and Canada.

Since taking office last year, Trump has moved to expel millions of undocumented migrants and restricted the entry into the United States of citizens of a number of countries.

“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

The Trump administration finalized rules last month that impose stricter limits on how long foreign students and journalists can stay in the United States.

Under a change that could be implemented as soon as September, foreigners on student visas would be admitted for the length of their academic program up to a maximum of four years.

Foreign journalists would be limited to stays of just 240 days, or around eight months, but could apply for extensions of similar duration.