India formally responded to the United States Directive, which requires that visa applicants to publish their social media identifiers, and the Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) claims that these applications should be strictly assessed on the basis of merit.
In his first comments on this matter, spokesman for Mea Randhir Jaiswal said: “Visas, immigration matters – these concern the sovereign functions of any country.
He added: “It is convinced that all the requests for the visa of Indian nationals should be treated on the basis of merit. It seemed that we were dealing with the US party on all issues of mobility and consular issues to ensure that the legitimate interests of Indian nationals were protected.”
Trump Imigration Crackdown has expanded to online presence
Trump’s administration intensified its promotion of immigration by expanding the investigation of social media for visa applicants, especially focused on foreign students. According to new instructions, applicants for students and the exchange of visitors must publish their social media profiles to allow consular officers to control their online activities for any content considered hostile or contrary to American national interests.
For example, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio revealed that more than 300 visas were canceled in a single month due to inappropriate contributions to social media, including those perceived as supporting terrorism or anti -Semitism. The aim of this increased screening of Trump’s administration is to identify individuals who could represent security risks, and consular officers review contributions from several years.
The procedure also involves denial of visas or green cards to individuals who publish the content of supporting groups marked as US terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Houth rebels.
US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) warned that social media activities that support such groups or engage in anti -Semitic haunted could lead to denial or cancellation of visas.
Internal security officials stressed that the US will not tolerate “terrorist sympathizers” who use freedom of expression as a shield, with officials like Kristi Noem, said “Anyone who thinks can come to America and hide behind the first addition to defend anti-Semitic violence and terrorism.
Cases of high-ranking, such as the abolition of visas for students involved in Pro-Palestinian protests, illustrate the firm attitude of the administration to this policy.
US Directive now a formal visa requirement
The US Foreign Ministry formalized the rule by demanding that almost all visa applicants presented their details of social media during the application process. This includes information not only from the main platforms, but also from the region of specific or less known networks.
The MEA statement is the first official Indian response to the controversial requirement and emphasizes the ongoing diplomatic involvement of Delhi with Washington to protect the interests of his citizens.
India, which represents a significant proportion of US visa applicants, especially in the categories of H-1B and students-repeatedly emphasized the importance of mobility and exchange of education in its bilateral relationship with the United States.
According to the US Embassy in India and the US Ambassador in India, over 5 million Indians are currently organizing US visas. This number includes both visa types of immigrants and immigrants.
Indians account for approximately 10% of all visa applicants in the US worldwide, with significant shares in students and employment categories (H -1b/h -l).
(Tagstotranslate) promotion of immigration
