US rolls out mandate of 'online presence reviews' for H-1B, H-4 visa applicants

In a worldwide alert, US said the vetting is an effort to address abuse of the H-1B program.

The United States on Monday said that the Department of State has expanded its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents as part of standard visa screening. The move comes as several applicants in India received emails informing them that their visa appointments had been rescheduled.

File photo of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents checking the identity documents of a workers at a grocery store parking lot during an immigration raid in California. (REUTERS)

“This vetting is being conducted globally for ALL applicants of ALL nationalities for H1-B and H-4 visas. It is an effort to address abuse of the H-1B program while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers," the US Embassy in India said in a post on X.

It further said that the US embassies and consulates will continue to accept and process H-1B and H-4 nonimmigrant visa applications. “We encourage applicants to apply as early as they can and anticipate additional processing time for these visa classifications,” it said.

This move comes amid Trump administration's high scrutiny of non-immigrant visa holders, especially the H-1B employees.

Visa categories such as H-1B, F-1, and J-1 have been significantly affected by the modifications implemented by the Trump administration. Numerous visa holders find themselves stranded in their home countries after traveling to renew their documentation, as US consulates are delaying scheduled interviews to facilitate more thorough background checks.

Hundreds of Indian H-1B visa holders who returned to the country to renew their work permits this December are stranded in India after US consular offices abruptly cancelled their appointments, giving them fresh dates only months later.

HT has reported that the rescheduled appointments were linked to the US’s new visa-vetting policy, under which agencies screen an applicant’s social media history. US authorities have said the new “online presence reviews” have been put into place to screen applicants who may pose a national security risk to the United States.

Trump administration's high scrutiny over immigration has weighed down and cast a shadow on the H-1B programme – once a cornerstone of the US’s immigration policy that allowed highly-skilled people to work and live in the country. Indians account for over 70% of H-1B visas. However, US President Donald Trump and a clutch of his allies have pushed back against the programme in what is a larger anti-immigrant policy-shift.