What you post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms has never been more important. Especially, if you are planning to apply for the US visa. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly ordered diplomats overseas to scrutinize the social media content of some applicants for student and other types of visas. According to a report in The New York Times, quoting US government officials, the aim of scouring social media accounts of the US Visa applicants is an effort to bar those suspected of criticizing the United States and Israel from entering America.
The US secretary of state reportedly laid out the instructions in a long Cable sent to diplomatic missions across the world on March 25. Rubio’s directive reportedly said that starting immediately, consular officers must refer certain student and exchange visitor visa applicants to the “fraud prevention unit” for a “mandatory social media check”. For those unaware, the fraud prevention unit of an embassy’s or consulate’s section for consular affairs helps screen applicants.
What Marco Rubio’s Cable to diplomats says
The cable sent by Marco Rubio reportedly described the broad parameters that diplomats should use to judge whether an applicant needs to be denied a visa. It is said to specify a type of applicant whose social media posts should be scrutinized. These reportedly include: Someone who is suspected of having terrorist ties or sympathies; who had a student or exchange visa between October 7, 2023, and August 31, 2024; or who has had a visa terminated since that October date.
Marco Rubio’s Cable also has specific dates
The dates specified by Marco Rubio in the Cable are said to indicate that one of the main aims of the social media searches is to reject the applications of international students who have expressed sympathy for Palestinians during the war.
The Cable further states that the applicants can be denied a visa if their behavior or actions show they bear “a hostile attitude toward U.S. citizens or U.S. culture (including government, institutions, or founding principles).”
Visa types specified in the Marco Rubio’s cable
The requested visa types that would set off extra scrutiny as per the Cable are reported to be: F, M and J, which is student and exchange visitor visas. The details of the Cable were first reported by an independent news site, ‘The Handbasket’.
In mid-March, a State Department spokesperson reportedly said in an email that “all available technology” was being used to screen visa applicants and visa holders. The spokesperson made the comment replying to a question from The New York Times about whether the department was using artificial intelligence to scan databases and social media posts to find visa holders to decide those whose visa should be revoked.
