Indian Student With $100,000 Columbia Scholarship Denied US Visa. Here's Why

Kaushik Raj, a 27-year-old journalist from Delhi, was all ready to live his American dream with a $100,000 (approximately Rs 89 lakh) scholarship in hand to pursue a master's degree in data journalism at Columbia University. But all his plans came crashing down when the United States' immigration department denied his student visa.

Raj, who completed all the visa formalities, including the interview, believes the rejection was linked to his social media activity. Under the Donald Trump administration, social media vetting has become an integral part of the visa selection process.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Raj claimed he wasn't very active on social media and "refrained from publicising his personal feelings about hot-button global issues, such as Israel's war in Gaza."

However, he said that in four years of his journalistic career, he often focused on hate crimes, which was reflected in his social media activities.

Raj's semester at Columbia University was set to start in August, but around that time, he received a letter from the US Embassy in New Delhi telling him his application had been rejected.

The letter said that Raj, who was born and raised in India, had not demonstrated sufficient ties to the country that would “compel” him to return home after his time in the United States. The letter made no mention of his online activity.

But, according to Raj, "It was clearly because they had gone through my social media."

"I will apply to the UK now," he told the American publication.

Raj's story is not unique. Three other Indian students interviewed by The Washington Post shared similar experiences. All claimed that they had completed every other stage of the application process, only to be rejected after the social media vetting process. All these students were told that US authorities failed to prove they have strong enough ties to India despite having spent their whole lives there.

Social Media Vetting

In a move apparently aimed at strengthening visa screening procedures, the United States in June announced that all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa were required 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 US law.

F or M category is for student visas and J category for exchange visitor visa.

Washington maintains that the social media vetting was critical for America's national security. According to White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly, the screening process helps identify applicants who might pose threats or attempt to undermine US foreign policy interests.

Drop In Visas Issued To Indians

The United States issued nearly one-fifth fewer student visas in August following a crackdown by President Donald Trump, led by a steep drop for India which was overtaken by China as top country of origin, data showed Monday.

The United States issued 313,138 student visas in August, the most common start month for US universities, a drop of 19.1 per cent from the same month in 2024, according to the International Trade Commission.

India, which last year was the top source of foreign students to the United States, saw the most dramatic drop with 44.5 per cent fewer student visas issued than a year earlier.