On September 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will expand its online presence review process to additional nonimmigrant visa applicants. Effective October 1, 2026, applicants for TN visas, TD dependent visas, and I visas for representatives of foreign media will be subject to the expanded review. The Department is instructing applicants in these categories to set the privacy settings on all social media profiles to “public” or “open” to facilitate the vetting process.

The announcement is particularly significant for employers that rely on TN professionals under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Mexican citizens seeking TN status are required to obtain a TN visa before requesting admission to the United States. Canadian citizens, by contrast, generally do not need a TN visa and may request TN classification directly at a U.S. port of entry. As a result, the new State Department instruction is most directly relevant to individuals actually applying for TN or TD visas through a U.S. embassy or consulate, including Mexican TN professionals and many TD dependents.

The October 1 expansion builds on a broader State Department initiative involving online presence review for numerous visa classifications. The Department currently applies this vetting process to certain A-3, C-3, G-5, F, M, H-1B, H-3, H-4, J, K, Q, R, S, T, and U visa applicants. Earlier expansions occurred in December 2025 and March 2026 before the Department added the I, TN, and TD classifications in September 2026.

Online screening itself is not entirely new. The State Department has requested social media identifiers from most immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants through its visa application forms since 2019. The latest announcement goes further for the specified visa classifications by expressly instructing applicants to make their social media profiles publicly accessible during the visa vetting process. According to the Department, information obtained through online presence review may be considered together with other information available to consular officers when determining visa eligibility.

For employers, the change makes pre-travel planning and visa application preparation increasingly important. Employees who will apply for a covered visa on or after October 1 should be made aware of the new State Department instruction before departing the United States or attending a visa interview. Employers should also recognize that online vetting may become another component of consular processing and, in individual cases, could contribute to requests for additional review or administrative processing. The Department has not announced a standard additional processing period associated with the new screening requirement.

Employers and foreign national employees should continue to focus on the accuracy and consistency of information submitted in the visa process. Information contained in the DS-160 visa application, employment support letters, résumés, and other application materials should accurately reflect the applicant’s employment, qualifications, and intended activities in the United States. Applicants should similarly be prepared for publicly available information to be reviewed as part of the adjudication. The State Department emphasizes that visa applicants must credibly demonstrate both their eligibility for the requested visa and their intent to engage in activities consistent with the applicable immigration classification.

Employer Takeaways

Employers with foreign national personnel should consider the following steps:

• • Identify upcoming visa applications and international travel: Determine whether employees or dependents expect to apply for TN, TD, I, or another visa classification already subject to online presence review.
• • Notify affected employees of the October 1 change: TN, TD, and I visa applicants should understand the State Department’s instruction that their social media profiles be set to public or open.
• • Avoid assumptions about processing time: Employees requiring a new visa should account for the possibility that additional vetting or administrative processing could affect travel timelines.
• • Evaluate Canadian TN cases separately: Canadian citizens generally do not require TN visas when applying for TN status at a port of entry, so the State Department’s visa-application instruction does not necessarily affect the typical Canadian TN admission process.

 

Employers should review upcoming international travel and visa appointments involving affected workers and dependents and incorporate the expanded screening procedures into their immigration planning. Because visa adjudications and individual circumstances can vary, employers or employees with questions about how the new procedures may affect a particular visa application should consult experienced immigration counsel before international travel.