Outlining each visa adjudication as a “national security decision”, the US has asked applicants to share their social media usernames or handles of each platform they have used in the last five years.

The United States consulates in Karachi and Lahore on Thursday requested that all applicants for F, M or J nonimmigrant visas make their social media accounts public for vetting, after similar instructions were issued by the US Embassy in Delhi earlier this week.

The US Embassy in New Delhi has mandated visa applicants to provide details of their social media accounts from the past five years. Non-compliance may result in visa denial.