The Trump administration is set to roll out stricter screening measures for H-1B visa applicants and their dependents from Monday, bringing social media checks into the vetting process. The US State Department has announced that a review of applicants’ online presence will begin from December 15. Until now, this requirement applied to students and exchange visitors, but it has now been expanded to include H-1B applicants and their dependents on H-4 visas.

What does the new social media rule say?

Explaining the move, the State Department said, “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 F, M and J visas are used by students and exchange visitors to travel to the United States.

How has this affected visa applicants in India?

Several H-1B visa holders have seen their interview appointments in India rescheduled following the introduction of the new guideline to vet social media profiles.

Emphasising that a US visa is not an entitlement, the State Department underlined that “a US visa is a privilege, not a right”. It said it relies on all available information during visa screening and vetting to identify applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who may pose a threat to national security or public safety.

What has the State Department said about national security?

Highlighting the importance of scrutiny, the department said, “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,” adding that every visa adjudication is a national security decision.

It further stated, “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.”

How does this fit into the wider immigration crackdown?

The latest directive is part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. The administration has launched a major drive to curb alleged abuse of the H-1B visa programme, which is widely used by companies, especially technology firms, to hire foreign workers.

Indian professionals, including technology workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.

What other steps has the administration taken?

In September this year, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers as what the administration described as an important initial step towards reforming the H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme.

Under this proclamation, a one-time fee of $100,000 was announced for new H-1B work visas, a move that could affect Indian professionals seeking employment in the United States on temporary visas.

Washington has also paused, with immediate effect, Green Card, US citizenship and other immigration applications for immigrants from 19 so-called countries of concern. This followed the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national.

Earlier this month, a policy memorandum directed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to “place on hold”, effective immediately, all asylum applications, regardless of the applicant’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review. These are the same countries that were subject to a travel ban announced by President Trump in a proclamation issued in June this year.