US Expands Social Media Screening to H-1B Visas

The U.S. Department of State announced on December 15 an expansion of its visa screening process, requiring all applicants for H-1B work visas and their H-4 dependents to undergo review of their social media presence. This measure, effective immediately, mandates that applicants adjust privacy settings on their social media accounts to public to enable officials to conduct the checks.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, such as roles in technology, engineering, and healthcare. Previously, mandatory social media screening applied only to applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas, which cover academic and vocational students as well as exchange visitors. The new policy extends this scrutiny to H-1B and H-4 applicants, aligning their vetting with existing procedures for students and exchange programs.

State Department officials emphasized that the change aims to strengthen national security by using all available information to assess applicants' admissibility. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision," the department stated in its...