TN Visa Social Media Rules Are Now in Effect

In case you missed it: the TN visa social media requirement took effect on October 1. The State Department now includes TN applicants in its online presence review. It also instructs them to set every social media profile to public or open.

What Changed With TN Visa Social Media Rules

Effective October 1, the Department of State broadened its online presence review to cover three more nonimmigrant visa classifications. Those are I (foreign media representatives), plus TN and TD (USMCA professionals and their dependents).

The department also instructs every applicant in these classifications to set the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public” or “open.”

This isn’t a brand-new type of review. Instead, it expands a vetting process that already covers categories such as F and M students, H-1B workers and H-3 trainees, J-1 exchange visitors, and K fiancé visas. The announcement doesn’t name H-2A or H-2B.

Why the State Department Says It’s Doing This

The department says it uses every available source of information when it screens applicants. It treats every visa decision as a national security decision. It also expects each applicant to show credibly that they qualify, including a genuine intent to follow the terms of their admission.

What This Means for Employers

In practice, your TN candidate has one more task as part of applying. The department instructs them to set every social media profile to public or open.

Here’s how hiring teams can make that easier:

• Mention it early. Bring it up when you start the TN process, not at the last minute.
• Say “every profile.” The instruction covers all of a candidate’s social media profiles, not just the one they use most.
• Share the source. Send your candidate the State Department’s announcement so they can read the department’s own words.
• Ask about specific cases. Our team can walk through what this means for a particular candidate.

Still, some questions remain open. The announcement doesn’t say how the review affects appointment timing, or what happens if a profile stays private. We’re watching for clarification from the State Department.

The takeaway: it’s one more step for your candidate, and it helps to bring it up early.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants (last updated September 18, 2026). https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/announcement-of-expanded-screening-and-vetting-for-visa-applicants.html

This post is for general informational purposes only and isn’t legal or immigration advice. Farmer Enterprises is not a law firm. How this announcement applies to a specific candidate depends on the details of each case, so please reach out to our team to review your situation.