Tourism and Hospitality Economy & Growth

U.S. Embassy expands social media checks for nonimmigrant visa applicants

The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka has issued an update regarding its visa services, announcing an expansion of social media presence review requirements for nonimmigrant visa applicants.

Effective March 30, a wider range of visa classifications will be subject to this vetting process, requiring affected applicants to change all social media profiles to public.

The affected visa classifications are all A‑3, C‑3 (if a domestic worker), G‑5, H‑3 and their H‑4 dependents, K‑1, K‑2, K‑3, Q, R‑1, R‑2, S, T, and U.

The embassy states that "to facilitate this vetting," all applicants in these newly included categories are instructed to take immediate action.

They are required to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to either "public" or "open."

This change must be completed prior to their scheduled visa interview appointments.