Malaysian Students Applying For US Visa Must Now Make Their Social Media Profiles Public
The move is set to be implemented effective immediately.
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Malaysians applying for US student or exchange programme visas are now required to set their social media profiles to public
The move, announced by the US Embassy in Malaysia on X, is meant to "facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States".
Effectively immediately, students planning to travel to the US for studies must make their personal social media accounts public for inspection by US authorities.
The 'F', 'M', and 'J' nonimmigrant visas are designated for academic students, vocational students, and exchange students, respectively.
The embassy said that social media identifiers have actually been required since 2019
In a report by AP News, the US State Department said it was restarting the process for foreigners applying to study in the US on 18 June this year, requiring them to unlock their social media profiles for review.
The move comes in the wake of a Norwegian tourist claiming he was denied entry for having a meme related to Vice President JD Vance on his phone
However, US Homeland Security officials said the tourist, Mads Mikkelsen, was turned away for a history of drug use.
Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, on 10 April, the Trump administration said it would monitor the social media accounts of immigrants for "anti-Semitic activity", which would apply to students as well as individuals applying for permanent resident status.
