Immigration

United States | Update: student visa interviews resumed

Summary

As of June 18, 2025, United States embassies and consulates are resuming F, M, and J visa interviews following a temporary suspension that began in late May. However, this resumption comes with enhanced screening procedures that all applicants should be aware of and prepare for.

The detail

New vetting requirement: public social media review

The State Department has resumed rescheduling visa interviews for F (academic), M (vocational), and J (exchange visitor) visas after issuing new guidance to the embassies. The guidance focuses on enhanced vetting including social media. The new directive will be effective five business days after June 18, 2025. Consulates are instructed to limit interview slots temporarily to account for the extra workload from manual vetting.

New Requirements include mandatory social media vetting. This requires applicants to set all public facing social media profiles to “public” viewing. Consular officers are being instructed to review posts for signs of hostility towards the United States, links to terrorist organizations, or antisemetic behavior. Non-compliance with the social media vetting may lead to the applicant’s visa being rejected.

Impact to applicants:
Under the new directive, all applicants for F, M, and J visas must:

• Make all public-facing social media profiles (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, etc.) accessible to consular officers.
• These accounts must be set to “public” visibility prior to the visa interview.

Consular officers will review social media content to identify potential security risks, including:

• Anti-United States sentiments
• Support for terrorist organizations (including specific scrutiny of posts referencing groups like Hamas)
• Antisemitic expressions or content promoting violence or extremism
• History of political activism, in the aforementioned activities, and the likelihood that applicants would continue such activity in the United States.

Applicants whose accounts are found to be inaccessible or flagged for concerning content may face delays or visa refusals.

We will continue to monitor guidance from the Department of State and notify you of any further developments or policy changes.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Manish Daftari
Partner

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