On Tuesday, the official account for the visa branch of the US Embassy in Tokyo posted an important note for those applying for a nonimmigrant visa — or DS-160 — for the States. According to the notice, applications must include accurate information regarding their SNS accounts that they have used within the last five years. Anyone who fails to comply with this request won’t be allowed to enter the country.  

While the US Department of State (DOS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have been checking the social media accounts of visa applicants and immigrants since at least 2019, Susanne Heubel, senior counsel at New York-based immigration law firm Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, told US Today that up until his last January these searches have been “almost negligible.” 

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SNS Searches Were ‘Negligible’ Until Now 

Heubel added, “I travel a lot, I have clients who travel a lot, of all sorts of nationalities and visa statuses, and nobody has ever complained about these searches until now.” According to Jeffrey J. Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, “The threat of having a visa denied over one’s political social media posts feels much more real in 2025.”  

Japanese Netizens React

The embassy announcement has sparked concern among Japanese citizens who regularly travel to the United States.

“It’s the death certificate of the land of the free,” posted one X user. “The United States is now pursuing policies similar to those of China’s Cultural Revolution. Considering how destructive the Cultural Revolution was to China, I think that if things continue this way, the United States will decline more than we can imagine. I can only pray that this will not happen, but I am currently feeling pessimistic,” wrote another. 

What Applicants Need To Know

For Japanese residents planning to apply for a US visa, it’s essential to be thorough and accurate when disclosing social media information on the DS-160 form. This includes all platforms used within the past five years, even if accounts are currently inactive or deleted.

The embassy has not provided specific details on how thorough the social media vetting process will be or what types of content might raise red flags during the review. However, applicants should be aware that their online presence may now play a more significant role in the visa approval process.

For more information about visa requirements, applicants can visit the US Embassy Tokyo’s official website.

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