"I was terrified": Visa applications in the Trump era

“I was terrified. Yeah, I was absolutely terrified” Annie, a second-year student at the University of St Andrews, recently experienced first-hand the anxiety of new mandatory social media screenings for US visa applications. Her name has been changed to preserve anonymity. 

Despite Annie’s impressive overpreparedness through the entire application process and her confidently unproblematic online presence, once her social media handles were written on her DS160 and her documents were handed to the US consular officer, she was left at the mercy of an unthreatening digital footprint and an anxious waiting game. 

Since June 2025, the United States government has gradually rolled out online presence reviews for non-immigrant visa applicants, requiring applicants to provide all social media handles and adjust the privacy settings on all social media accounts to ‘public’. The State Department maintains that these screenings are done in the name of national security. Multiple news outlets have reported that consular officers may be looking for posts that exhibit threatening, harassing, or ‘hostile attitudes’ toward the US, links to groups the US considers terrorist organisations, activity suggesting unlawful behaviour, antisemitic content, or evidence of previous visa noncompliance.

As of 18 June, 2025, the US Department of State requires all applicants for F, M, and J visas (required for student and work-based exchange programs) to provide all their social media handles for thorough vetting of their online presence. On 15 December, 2025, this practice was extended to H-1B and H-4 visas, or employer-sponsored skilled worker visas. Last week, on 25, March 2026, the US Department of State further expanded mandatory screenings to applicants for all A-3, C-3 (if a domestic worker), G-5, H-3, H-4 dependents of H-3, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T, and U visa classifications, effective as of 30 March. 

Annie applied for – and received – a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to work at a summer camp in the US this summer via a program called BUNAC (British University North America Club). She underwent the process fully aware of the required social media screening. She described her application process from start to finish, opening up about the anxiety and the financial pressure of the endeavour, and her reflections on the inaccessibility and invasiveness of modern US visa requirements. 

Annie travelled down to the US embassy in London for her visa interview, as every UK citizen is required to do. “My appointment was at ten, and I think I showed up at like eight o'clock,” she said. While she waited for her turn to check in, she noticed a queue full of people waiting to use the printer in the corner of a cafe near the embassy, where people were printing off their forgotten documents. “They were sending them from the embassy, if they hadn’t got papers, to the small little cafe which was charging loads of money to print off people’s documents,” she explained. “I had all of mine, luckily.” Her promptness and preparation came from a place of fear. “I think you kind of had to be. I was kind of terrified [by] all the documents.”

After being greeted at the check-in desk by a massive mural of President Trump and his Cabinet, and going through security, she headed up to the designated floor for her appointment. “They asked to see my documents and then […] they were [...] checking through,” she said, recalling specific questions about whether all her social media was disclosed and had been public. “She was going through the form, and she said, ‘So, you don’t have TikTok or Snapchat then?’ I said ‘No, I do not’” and “then I was allowed to move forward to the next step,” Annie explained.

“I do not have TikTok, but I do have Snapchat. I deleted it before the appointment, but I still have an account,” Annie said. “I’ve not redownloaded it yet, but […] I didn’t declare it on the DS160, and I didn't want to be told to refill the form [and] book another appointment. So I just said no.” She did share her LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. “I don’t like making my account public. That was annoying [...] because there's a reason why I don't have my account public. I don’t want everybody seeing what’s on my Instagram,” she said. Despite not having posted anything she was concerned about being flagged, Annie remained paranoid about what Instagram reels she may have reposted or liked. “I did check, but I know I wouldn’t have anything American. It would be [something about] Reform maybe [...] that would be taking the piss out of them,” she explained. She also shared concern over what she might be tagged in and how her presence on others’ social media might reflect on her application.

After the approval of her visa, Annie reflected on the omission of her Snapchat account. “The fact that they didn’t pick up on my Snapchat account makes me really wonder how much they actually check,” she said. “Because I imagine they'd have like an online thing where they just put your phone number in or something, and your accounts would come up. But obviously, they didn’t feel the need to go that deep, maybe.” Annie agreed that the screenings were likely possible intimidation tactics. “That’s what I think it is, to be honest,” she said. “I think if they were really concerned, they would have picked up on the fact that I hadn’t disclosed all the accounts to them.”

Still, the application process left Annie more cautious about her digital footprint. “I did not repost, reshare, whatever […] any political stuff after that,” she explained. Despite an approved visa and her Instagram back to private, she still has anxieties about how her online presence might threaten her travel status. Is she concerned about posting in the future? “I’ve not redownloaded Snapchat, so that says something, right?”

Unofficial social media screening has been a part of the US immigration vetting process for nearly a decade, and reflects a larger global trend toward digital data screening. As the US expands social media review to further visa classifications, embassies risk longer administrative processing times, and some even speculate a decrease in American tourism. As we approach the summer and the next academic year, more students will be applying for visas and seeking entry into the US, putting their social media and digital footprint to the test. In the face of such evaluation, only time will tell if early arrivals and excessive documents are enough to let the US government know you come in peace. 

Illustration by Marios Diakourtis