NEW DELHI: The ministry of exterior affairs on Thursday stated that the US ought to deal with visa purposes of Indian residents on the premise of advantage, after the US embassy issued pointers looking for particulars of social media accounts of candidates.Whereas addressing a weekly press convention, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that visa and immigration issues pertain to the sovereign capabilities of any nation, and the federal government stays engaged with the US on all mobility and consular points.“Visa and immigration issues pertain to the sovereign capabilities of any nation. However we’ve got seen the rules issued by the US embassy, requiring the availability of social media identifiers in visa purposes,” Jaiswal stated.“However it’s our perception that each one visa purposes of Indian nationals ought to be handled on the premise of advantage. We stay engaged with the US aspect on all mobility and consular points to make sure that the professional pursuits of Indian nationals are safeguarded,” he added.Earlier within the day, the US embassy in India requested visa candidates to reveal all social media usernames and handles from the previous 5 years for background checks.“Visa candidates are required to checklist all social media usernames or handles of each platform they’ve used within the final 5 years on the DS-160 visa utility kind. Candidates certify that the data of their visa utility is true and proper earlier than they signal and submit,” the embassy stated in a social media put up on X.“Omitting social media data might result in visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” it added.This comes amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to “improve safety and make sure the integrity” of the visa course of.Earlier this week, because the US state division resumed processing pupil visa purposes, the US embassy requested all pupil visa candidates to make their social media accounts public for background checks.“Efficient instantly, all people making use of for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to regulate the privateness settings on all of their social media accounts to public to facilitate the vetting crucial to determine their id and admissibility to the US below US regulation,” the US embassy in India posted on X.