Your Social Media Could Affect Your Visa Application

Social media vetting is now part of the visa process.

As an immigration attorney, here's what I think most people get wrong about it:

The officers reviewing social media aren't necessarily looking for political opinions. They're typically looking for anti-American sentiments, hate speech, or security concerns. That's what they're supposed to be screening for.

Each individual officer isn't necessarily a political person scanning for criticism of any particular figure. They're doing a job. They have guidelines they're following.

I just saw this play out with a client. He was applying for a visa at a Consulate when his case was put on hold. They told him to make all his social media accounts public so they could review them. Only then would they continue processing his application.

This wasn't because something specific raised a red flag. It's part of the additional vetting they're now doing across the board.

I will tell everyone what I tell all my clients now: make your social media public from the beginning.

That's the kind of delay you'd rather avoid.

So when clients ask me what they should do with regards to their social media content, I tell them the truth: unfortunately, people just have to be a little more careful than before about what they're saying online.

I think about it this way: when you're applying for a visa, you're asking a government to grant you something. That's a different situation than being a citizen exercising free speech rights. The rules aren't the same. The standards aren't the same.

Is that fair? You could argue it either way. But my job isn't to debate fairness. My job is to help clients navigate the system as it actually exists today.

And today, that system includes someone potentially reviewing your social media as part of the visa decision.

The honest answer is somewhere in the middle. Be thoughtful about what you post. Keep in mind that it might be part of the picture someone's looking at when they make a decision about your case.

That awareness alone goes a long way.