New US visa social media vetting and Medicaid eligibility rules

Starting on October 1, 2026, the US Department of State will check the social media accounts of I-1, TN, and TD visa applicants. These visa applicants will have to make all their social media profiles public for review by visa officials. Social media vetting is already in place for H-1B/H4, F-1/F-2, J-1/J-2, H-3, K, R, Q, T/U/S visa applicants. The new rule only expands the purview of the vetting process. I visa is for foreign media representatives; TN visa is for Canadian and Mexican professionals under USMCA and the TD visa is for the dependents of TN applicants. The expansion will not affect Indian visa applicants much, except for Indian journalists who will now need to show their social media accounts to visa officers. "The Department relies on every available source of information during visa screening and vetting to identify applicants who may be inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to national security or public safety. We apply this rigorous vetting standard consistently across all visa applicants," the department said. October 1 marks the beginning of a new fiscal year (FY 2027) which reset the annual Green Card number.

Health coverage eligibility

Starting October 1, federally funded Medicaid and CHIP eligibility will generally be limited to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, people residing in the United States under Compacts of Free Association, and lawfully residing children or pregnant immigrants in states using the relevant coverage option. The change removes eligibility from several other lawfully present groups, including some refugees and asylees who do not have Green Cards, under implementation rules from the 2025 reconciliation law Emergency Medicaid remains available to people who meet its other requirements, while states may use their own money to provide broader coverage. The Trump administration announced on September 30, 2026 that over 250,000 visas have been revoked since President Donald Trump took office. The revocations were for a variety of violations, including visa holders who violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against the U.S. or Americans, defrauded Americans, abused the immigration system, and endangered national security, a State Department official told Fox News Digital. Among the visas revoked were 2,300 in connection with birth tourism, the practice of pregnant foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. specifically to give birth so their child automatically receives citizenship.