The 24 -year -old from Delhi, recently admitted to the Harvard University, now begins his day by checking his instagram account. “Every few hours I think about how the old post can be problematic, and then delete it,” he says. “Even memes feel risky now.” He is one of the Indian students who shared their growing concerns with Indian Express on the new US rule, asking for all applicants for visa F, M and J to publish their social media profiles.
Counseling, issued in the name “National Security and Public Security”, asks the applicant to adjust the protection of personal data protection so that American consular officers can review their accounts. In previous years, only publicly visible content has been checked.
Read | Why do we want your social media account details to provide visas: explained
The US now considers every visa request to be a “national security decision”. Applicants must provide user names or handles for all social media platforms used in the last five years. The US Embassy in India warned on Thursday that the unconference of this information “could lead to denies and incapacity for future visas”.
“I gave the interview earlier in June and I am still waiting for my visa,” said Student Indian Express Student based in Delhi. “The instructions are very vague. They say,” Whatever that violates US values. “We don’t even know what that is to mean.”
Read also: USA Visa: Indians looking for F, M, J Unimposed Visas must “modify Social Media settings”, says the embassy-click new rules
The lack of clarity has caused many students to emphasize because they are not sure what contributions can increase the red flags. A 23-year-old Bombai man, also admitted to Harvard, said on May 22, he published all his accounts-on the day he submitted his DS-160 visa application form. “Since then, I have also archived everything remotely political. I have also ceased to like contributions, just in case it was visible,” he says.
Career counseling companies claim that they had to adapt quickly to lead students to manage their digital presence.
“The recent US government directive is a significant development-but the one that serious academically oriented applicants can certainly successfully navigate,” said Aman Singh, co-founder Gradright, Gurgaon Indian Express. “Our main leadership now focuses on helping students understand and actively manage their digital track. It’s about being mindful and authentic.”
According to Singh, while the number of Indian students going to the US has fallen by 20-25%over the last 6-8 months, with 60%increased by gradright with gradright. “The attraction of American universities remains strong. For strong students with a high limb, the process still works,” he adds.
Still, students say uncertainty is stressful. Many of them are the second groups that once seemed completely harmless.
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