In line with a recent announcement by the US State Department, the Embassy in Kingston has announced that, effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting.
A notice posted to the US Embassy's website said the vetting is necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law.
In a notice on June 18, the State Department said it was restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas, but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review.
The department said consular offices will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institution and founding principles.
The department said it had rescinded its May suspension for student visa processing, but said new applicants who refused to set their social media accounts to public and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected.
It said a refusal to do so could be assigned they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
The F visa is granted for academic studies at an accredited US college or university, or for English language students, while the M visa is for vocational or non-academic studies or training in the US.
The J visa covers exchange visitors participating in approved programmes, including students, researchers, scholars and interns.
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