Indian student’s visa ‘put on hold’ as her Reddit account was not public

An Indian student’s F-1 student visa was cancelled after her Reddit account was found to be private, amid the US government’s stricter social media screening policies for student visas.

Sharing her situation on Reddit on Sunday, the student from Hyderabad, stated, “I had my F-1 visa interview recently. During the interview, the visa officer raised a concern about my Reddit account, which I had not listed on my DS-160 form. 

She mentioned that the account was not visible even though it was an open account, and at the end of the interview, she issued me a 221(g) slip requesting that I make all my social media handles public.”

This development comes after the US government announced stricter social media screening for student visa applicants to check for involvement in anti-Semitic or extremist activities before approving visas.

Adding to this, the US Embassy in India issued a notice on Saturday stating that receiving a US visa does not mean visa screening ends. Visa holders are continuously evaluated and monitored everywhere. The embassy stated that it consistently checks visa holders to ensure they follow all US laws and immigration rules and will revoke visas and deport individuals if they do not comply.

What is a 221(g) slip?

A 221(g) slip is issued by the US Embassy or Consulate when a visa application requires further administrative processing. It temporarily puts the application on hold until the applicant provides additional documents or makes changes as requested by the consular officer. In this case, the student was asked to make all her social media handles public before her visa application could proceed.