New Delhi/IBNS: India has called for a merit-based treatment of visa applications by its citizens as the United States has tightened the visa-screening process particularly for students, media reports said.

In response to a query on the US visa guidelines, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "On the guidelines regarding visa issues, yes, you see, visa matters, immigration matters are matters which pertain to sovereign functions of any country.

"But having said that, we have seen the guidelines issued by the US side, with the US Embassy here, US government, regarding providing details of social media identifiers in visa applications. But it is our belief that all visa applications of Indian nationals should be treated on the basis of merit, and we remain engaged with the US side on all mobility issues and consular issues to ensure that the legitimate interests of Indian nationals are safeguarded."

In an attempt to tighten the visa screening process, the US has announced that all individuals applying for non-immigrant visas in F (student), M, or J (academic scholar) categories are required to adjust the privacy settings on their social media accounts, making it 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the country.

In a post on X, the official handle of the U.S. Embassy in India (@USAndIndia) shared the announcement stating, "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States."

It said that since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms.

"We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security."

Meanwhile, the US administration also announced a sweeping new travel ban, barring nationals from 12 countries entirely, and will partially grant visas to seven others. Most of these affected countries are reportedly in the Middle East and Africa.

Citizens from these nations now face a total ban on immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including those for tourism, education, and employment.

While, seven other countries face partial restrictions, involving tighter screening or limited visa categories.

Amid growing concern in South Asia, the US has clarified that India is not on the list.

The US continues to process applications for Indian nationals across all categories, including B1/B2 tourist visas, H1B work permits, and F1 student visas.