PTI
New York/Washington, Updated At: 08:36 AM Dec 15, 2025 IST
The State Department said it will begin enhanced screening of H‑1B visa applicants and their H‑4 dependents, including reviews of their social media accounts, starting December 15.
Previously, students and exchange visitors in F, M and J classifications were already subject to online-presence checks. The department has expanded that vetting to cover H‑1B petitioners and H‑4 dependents as well.
To enable this review, the department instructed all applicants for H‑1B and their dependents (H‑4), as well as F, M and J visa applicants, to set their social media privacy settings to “public.”
Several H‑1B applicants in India have had their scheduled interviews postponed following the rollout of this guideline to examine social media profiles.
The State Department emphasized that a US visa is a privilege, not a right, and said it uses all available information in visa screening to identify applicants who are inadmissible or who pose threats to national security or public safety. It noted that every visa adjudication is a national security decision and that the United States must ensure applicants do not intend to harm Americans or US interests and that they meet the terms of their admission.
The directive is the latest step in broader measures by the administration tightening immigration screening.
