The State Department announced it will begin enhanced screening of H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, including reviews of social media accounts, beginning December 15. The measure extends earlier online-presence checks that already applied to students and exchange visitors in F, M and J visa categories.
To facilitate the reviews, the department instructed all H-1B and H-4 applicants, as well as F, M and J visa applicants, to change their social media privacy settings to public. The guidance aims to allow consular officers to examine applicants’ online activity as part of routine visa vetting.
Following the rollout of this policy, several H-1B applicants in India reported that their scheduled interviews were postponed while social media profiles were reviewed.
The State Department reiterated that a US visa is a privilege, not a right, and said it uses all available information in screening to identify applicants who may be inadmissible or who could pose threats to national security or public safety. The agency described each visa adjudication as a national security decision and said the United States must verify that applicants do not intend to harm Americans or US interests and that they will comply with the terms of their admission.
Officials framed the directive as part of broader efforts by the administration to tighten immigration screening and to ensure that visa decisions reflect national security considerations.
