'Excessive' Irish students applying for J1 US visa will be subject to social media vetting

A strange new rule has been imposed by the United States, that will now require anyone seeking an F, M, or J visa to have their social media accounts set to public, including those in Ireland looking to get a visa.

The move comes as United States will vetting social media accounts as part of the visa granting process.

The notice by the U.S visa services reads as follows:

"Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under U.S. law."

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The new regulation has been described by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as "excessive" and that he "does not approve and does not agree with them."

He goes on to say that "One of the great things in the modern world is the capacity for young people to travel."

And he says that the atmosphere that these measures will create will give young people travelling "fear and anxiety." And that there is an issue around "freedom of speech."