
On January 27th, the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto held its first-ever live Facebook chat on consular issues, focusing the session on student visas. Supported by the Consulate’s Public Affairs section, Consular officers Nina Murray and Gloria Chou spent one hour answering live questions from Facebook users and reached over 2,000 people. All questions received were substantive, legitimate inquiries on visa procedures, U.S. document management and passports, and travel to the U.S. from Canada. The Consulate plans to host interactive events using social media similar to this on a regular basis to supplement current outreach and media activities to further engage student audiences.