The United States has rolled out a stringent new screening process for certain visa applicants, leading to significant disruptions and long delays for Indian professionals. Starting December 15, the US State Department mandated a comprehensive review of social media profiles for individuals applying for H-1B and H-4 visas.
What Does the New Social Media Vetting Process Involve?
Under this enhanced immigration check, consular officers are now meticulously examining all social media handles declared by applicants. The primary goal is to scan for any anti-American content. As a result, visa approvals are no longer instantaneous. Applications are now being processed over the course of a day or several days following the interview.
This shift has placed a considerable burden on US consular offices in India, which typically handle a high volume of interviews daily. To accommodate the time-intensive nature of reviewing social media profiles, the number of interviews has been drastically reduced.
Widespread Chaos and Massive Appointment Delays
The immediate consequence has been chaos for hundreds of applicants. Many H-1B visa holders have received last-minute notifications that their scheduled appointments have been pushed back by years. Reports confirm that appointments originally set for this month have been rescheduled to as far out as mid-2026.
Applicants sharing their experiences online reveal a common pattern. Visa officers are now explicitly asking candidates if they are aware of the new social media vetting rules and whether they have made all their accounts public. Many are being handed a 221(g) slip, which initially indicates a refusal. However, the status often changes to 'approved' after some time, adding to the confusion and anxiety.
Key Forms: DS-160 and the DS-5535 Questionnaire
The core of this new process revolves around two critical forms: DS-160 and DS-5535.
The DS-160 Form: This is the online application for most US non-immigrant visas, submitted before the interview. Applicants are now required to list all social media handles they have used in the past five years. This includes platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.
The DS-5535 Form: This form, officially titled 'Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants,' is issued at the discretion of the visa officer after the interview. It is a tool for enhanced security vetting. One applicant on Reddit recounted that after admitting they had not listed all social media accounts on the DS-160, their passport was not taken, and they were instructed to fill out the DS-5535. This form requires a complete list of social media accounts and mandates that they remain public. Receiving this form does not mean an automatic denial, but it can extend the processing time by several weeks or even months.
The new policy underscores a tightening of US immigration checks, directly impacting the large number of Indian tech professionals and their families seeking these visas. The requirement for full social media transparency and the resulting administrative slowdown are creating a major bottleneck, with repercussions expected to last for years.
