Advising a client with US exposure as the screening tightens

Through 2026 the US has paused immigrant-visa issuance in broad categories for enhanced screening, expanded social-media and online-presence vetting, moved on large-scale visa revocations, and changed the rules around F-1 status and OPT. You may not do US work — but your clients have US travel history, US refusals, US social-media footprints and US family, and those now bear on the file in front of you.

Where it touches your casework

• A US refusal or revocation in the history. Disclose it on every "any country" question, get the paperwork, and explain the context proactively — an unexplained US denial invites the officer to infer a pattern. A revocation is not the same as a refusal; characterise it accurately.
• The social-media question. Some applications now ask for handles and consent to review. Advise clients not to scrub or lock accounts in a way that looks evasive, and not to post anything that contradicts their stated plans or history. What is public is assessed.
• Clients weighing the US as an option. Be candid that timelines and predictability have degraded, that consular processing can stop with little notice, and that F-1/OPT is a moving target. If they have a viable Canada, UK or Australia route, that comparison has shifted.
• Dual intent and prior US stays. A long or overstayed US stay, or a pending US matter, can affect admissibility and credibility elsewhere. Map it before filing.

What to put in writing

Note in the file that you identified the client's US exposure, what you advised, and that US policy is volatile and outside your scope. If a client insists on a US step, refer them to US counsel rather than advising on it yourself.