Overview
- The State Department, which set the change to begin Monday, March 30, will extend online‑presence review to 14 additional nonimmigrant visas including K, R, Q, H‑3, and certain A‑3, C‑3, and G‑5 workers.
- Applicants must set all social accounts to public and list every handle used in the past five years so consular officers can review posts and other visible activity.
- The added categories accounted for about 72,175 visas in FY2024, roughly a 6% increase in the pool now subject to checks, which analysts say could bring modest extra waits and more 221(g) administrative processing.
- Indian-focused outlets report the near-term effect on most Indian travelers is small because the new groups are niche, though K fiancé and spouse cases, R‑1 religious workers, H‑3 or Q trainees, and T or U applicants could feel tighter scrutiny.
- Advisers warn against deleting or hiding posts before interviews because omissions can be treated as misrepresentation, and note earlier phases for F/M/J in June 2025 and H‑1B/H‑4 in December 2025 already led to backlogs.