A Kuwaiti student returning to the United States says she has been refused an F-1 visa three times and believes a social media mix-up may be behind the repeated refusals.
The student, a Kuwaiti citizen who says she is fully sponsored by her government, shared her experience on Reddit while seeking advice ahead of another visa interview. She had previously studied in the United States and returned to renew her F-1 visa.
According to her post, the issue involves an Instagram account that she says does not belong to her. She has a Pinterest account with a particular username, while another woman has an Instagram account using the exact same username. The student said the woman also looks somewhat similar to her, which she believes may have added to the confusion.
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“During my interviews, I’ve repeatedly been asked if I have another Instagram account, and I’ve truthfully said no,” she wrote.
She said the officer then specifically asked whether she owned the Instagram account in question. The student denied it but believes the officer did not accept her explanation.
The Instagram account is private, and she says she does not know the woman who owns it or have any access to the account.
“I have another interview coming up and I’ve downloaded my Instagram data showing my real account information/history,” she said, asking how she could prove that the disputed account does not belong to her.
One Reddit user suggested contacting Meta’s legal department and asking whether the company could provide documentation showing that her IP address had never accessed the account or confirming that the account belongs to someone else.
The student said she was convinced the account was playing a role because the issue had been raised during every interview since it first came up.
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“I’m pretty certain because they’ve brought it up at every interview since the issue first came up. I just contacted Instagram, so hopefully they can provide that kind of confirmation 🙏🏼” she replied.
The case has left the Kuwaiti student trying to find a way to establish that an account with the same username is unrelated to her. She is now preparing for another interview and hopes that her Instagram data and any documentation she can obtain from Meta will help explain the situation.
Her Reddit post, however, does not independently confirm that the social media issue was the reason for her three visa refusals. That remains her assessment based on the questions she says were repeatedly asked by visa officers.