Shibbir Ahmed, Washington DC — The U.S. Department of State is expanding its online presence screening program to three additional categories of nonimmigrant visa applicants, requiring certain foreign nationals to make their social media profiles publicly accessible as part of the visa vetting process.
Beginning October 1, 2026, the expanded screening will apply to applicants for I, TN and TD visas, according to a State Department announcement issued September 18. Applicants in these categories will be instructed to set the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public” or “open” to facilitate the review.
The I visa is used by representatives of foreign media, including members of the press, radio, film and print industries who travel temporarily to the United States to work in their profession. TN visas are available to qualifying professionals from Canada and Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while TD visas are for eligible dependents of TN visa holders.
The State Department said it uses information from available sources during visa screening to determine whether applicants are admissible to the United States, including whether they may pose national-security or public-safety concerns.
“Every visa adjudication is fundamentally a national security decision,” the department said, emphasizing that applicants must demonstrate their eligibility for the visa category and their intention to comply with the terms of admission.
The latest expansion adds I, TN and TD applicants to a growing list of visa categories already subject to online presence review. The program currently covers several diplomatic and official categories, F and M student visas, H-1B and certain related employment visas, J exchange-visitor visas, K fiancé and dependent visas, Q cultural-exchange visas, R religious-worker visas, and S, T and U categories involving witnesses, informants and victims.
The State Department previously expanded online presence screening in March to additional visa classifications, including H-3, H-4 dependents of H-3 applicants, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T and U visas. H-1B and H-4 applicants were brought under the online-presence review in December 2025.
The department says the screening is part of a broader effort to strengthen visa vetting and identify applicants who may be inadmissible to the United States. The policy applies during the visa adjudication process and does not mean that every applicant whose social-media account is reviewed will be denied a visa.
For foreign journalists, the change is particularly significant because the I visa is specifically designed for eligible representatives of foreign media organizations. The State Department says I-visa holders may engage in informational or educational activities in the United States connected to the news-gathering and reporting functions of their foreign media organization.
The expanded screening comes as the Trump administration continues to tighten immigration and visa-screening procedures. The administration has previously expanded online vetting for students, exchange visitors and certain employment-based visa applicants. The new requirements for I, TN and TD applicants will take effect October 1, 2026.
