Effective October 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will expand its social media screening and vetting of nonimmigrants in the Foreign Media Representative (I), Canadian and Mexican Professional (TN), and Dependent (TD) visa classifications. Visa applicants will be required to set the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public” or “open”.
On September 18, 2026, the DOS announced that it will be expanding its online presence review for all I, TN, and TD visa applicants. The I visa classification is reserved for foreign media representatives, while the TN visa classification allows eligible citizens of Canada and Mexico to work in the United States as professionals in prearranged professional level business activities. Dependents of TN visa applicants (known as “TD” visa applicants)—such as the spouse and children under 21 of the principal TN visa applicant—would also be subject to DOS’s social media screening and vetting. The State Department has required social media usernames to be disclosed on the Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, for all visa applicants since May 2019. Subsequently, in June 2025 the DOS enhanced its online presence review for student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant visa classifications by requiring social media profiles to be set to “public.” As of December 2025, the DOS then expanded its enhanced online presence review policy to the employment-based H-1B and dependent H-4 visa classifications. Effective October 1, 2026, DOS’s enhanced online presence review will be broadened to capture I, TN, and TD visa applicants.
Setting a social media account to “public” or “open” has practical consequences beyond profile visibility. It allows consular officers to view content that may otherwise be limited to approved followers, friends, or connections. The Department of State has stated that applicants must make their social media profiles publicly viewable, and failure to do so could result in administrative processing and delayed visa issuance. The result is broader access to publicly visible online content during the visa adjudication process. Applicants should expect information available through public social media accounts to be reviewed alongside information provided in visa applications and supporting documentation. DOS states that it will not request user passwords.
DOS describes every visa adjudication as a national security decision. Applicants must establish eligibility for the requested visa, including a genuine intent to comply with the terms of admission. DOS also states that receiving a U.S. visa is a privilege granted at the government’s discretion.
I, TN, and TD visa applicants will be required to set their social media profiles to “public” or “open” as of October 1, 2026.
Individuals applying for I, TN, or TD visas at U.S. consulates outside the United States must provide the social media identifiers requested on Form DS-160 and set all social media profiles to public or open. Applicants who have used any listed social media platform during the preceding five years must provide the associated identifier. Applicants should complete the application fully and truthfully to avoid processing delays. This policy applies to visa applications adjudicated by DOS and does not apply to domestic benefit requests adjudicated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Vialto Law will continue to monitor the impact of this policy change and provide further updates once they are available.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Angelo A. Paparelli
Partner, Vialto Law (US) LLP
Yulina Wang
Manager, Vialto Partners LLP
Simply follow our Vialto Alerts page on LinkedIn and posts will be displayed on your feed. To ensure you don’t miss one, once you’re on our LinkedIn page, click on the bell icon under the banner image to manage your notifications.
Further information on Vialto can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
© 2026 Vialto Partners. All rights reserved.