US govt begins social media screening of H-1B applicants
The Trump administration announced social media checks for applicants in the F, M, J student, exchange visitor visa categories in June
Washington The Trump administration’s expanded social media vetting for all H-1B and H-4 dependent visa applications to the United States came into effect on Monday following an announcement last week.
The new “online presence reviews” have been put into place to screen applicants who may pose a national security risk to the United States.
This follows from an announcement in June when the Trump administration announced social media checks for applicants in the F, M and J student and exchange visitor visa categories. The expansion in social media vetting was linked to the rescheduling of a number of visa appointments for H-1B visa holders and H-4 dependent visa holders in India due to “resource availability”.
“If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date. Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate,” the Embassy posted on X last Wednesday.
In June, the Trump administration announced that a social media vetting process would be put into place for student and exchange visitor visa applicants worldwide. As part of the process, US embassies and consulates were instructed to pause adding new appointment capacity while the new vetting process was rolled out. The new process — which was intended to screen for applicants who may pose a national security risk to the US — caused significant delays in visa appointments and processing for many student visa applicants in India.
“In every visa case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission,” US Embassy spokesperson Christopher Elms said in response to media queries.
Immigration lawyers told HT last week that the impact of the new reviews will affect processing times for the concerned visa categories.
“The practical impact thus far is mostly about timing and predictability. Added screening can mean longer interview wait times in some posts, more cases put into “administrative processing” after the interview, and ripple effects for start dates, travel, and dependent family members applying for H-4 visas,” said Nicole Gurnara, principal immigration attorney at Manifest Law. However, Gurnara added that while the visa processing may become slower, she does not anticipate these reviews making it much harder to qualify for an H-1B visa
