Social media vetting of H-1B US visa applicants begins today

The US government is set to widen its visa screening framework by introducing enhanced vetting for H-1B visa applicants and their dependents, marking a significant shift in how temporary work visas are assessed. The measure, announced by the State Department, brings employment-based applicants under scrutiny that was previously limited to students and exchange visitors.

According to a new order, the State Department said that from December 15, a review of the online presence for all H-1B applicants and their dependents will be conducted. Students and exchange visitors were already subject to this review, and now the department has expanded this requirement to vet social media profiles to include H1-B applicants and their dependents on H-4 visas.

“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public”,” the State Department said. The F, M, and J visas are used by students and exchange visitors to come to the US.

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Several H-1B visa holders have had their interviews in India rescheduled in the wake of this new guideline to vet their social media profiles. Underscoring that a US visa is a privilege, not a right, the State Department has said that it uses all available information in visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to America, including those who pose a threat to the country’s national security or public safety.

“We conduct thorough vetting of all visa applicants, including online presence review of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications,” it said, underlining that every visa adjudication is a national security decision. “The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission,” it added.

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The directive is the latest step in the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. The administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse in the H-1B visa programme, which is used by companies, particularly technology companies, to employ foreign workers in the US. Indian professionals, including technology workers and physicians, are among the largest cohort of H-1B visa holders.

In September this year, Trump issued a proclamation titled ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’ as an important initial step to reform the H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme. Under the proclamation, the Trump administration announced a one-time fee of USD 100,000 on new H-1B work visas, an order that could impact Indian professionals looking to work in the US on the temporary visas.

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