US Visa: Application Rules Tightened as Trump Administration Implements New Social Media Rules

• The US Embassy shared the new requirements for non-immigrant visa applicants, like student visas
• The requirements relate to the social media accounts of applicants to facilitate the vetting for visas
• The Trump Administration has introduced a number of new visa measures amid a crackdown on immigration

The US has announced new requirements for non-immigrant visa applicants, particularly those seeking student visas, among others.

All individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to ‘public’.

A statement on the US embassy site said this adjustment is to facilitate the vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the US.

Exchange visitor 'J' visas are non-immigrant visas for individuals approved to participate in exchange visitor programmes in the US.

The F-1 Visa for Academic students allows for entry into the US as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training programme.

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The M-1 visa is for vocational students or other non-academic programmes, other than language training.

Ghanaians now paying more for US visa

Ghanaians and other persons planning to travel to the US on non-immigrant visas have been paying an additional $250 as part of a new policy introduced by the Trump administration.

The new visa integrity fee started on July 4, was part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025.

The fee applies to all non-immigrant visa holders, including tourists, students, and temporary workers from Ghana and other countries that do not qualify for the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme.

The US is considering requiring foreign nationals from certain countries to pay a $15,000 deposit for a tourist or business visa.

The deposit would also come into play where screening and vetting information is considered unsatisfactory, according to a notice published by the US State Department.

The possible 12-month pilot programme aims to curb visa overstays.

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Ghanaians overstaying US visas

Ghana has been flagged as one of the African countries with high visa overstay rates in the US.

These findings were outlined in a United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Fiscal Year 2023 Entry/Exit Overstay Report.

The report noted that Ghanaian travellers admitted for business or pleasure on B1/B2 visas recorded a 7.50% total overstay rate.

This amounted to 1,910 total overstays out of 25,454 expected departures. Of these overstays, 1,850 were in-country, reflecting a 7.27% overstay rate.

Ghanaian students studying in US increase

YEN.com.gh reported that the number of Ghanaian students in the US rose by 45% for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Ghana was ranked number 18 among countries with students pursuing higher education in the US.

That marked the second year in a row the country ranked among the top 25 countries globally sending students to America.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh