The Trump administration has introduced sweeping new scrutiny for H-1B visa applicants and their dependents, directing US consular officers to intensively review applicants’ employment histories and online footprints for any involvement in activities the government considers “censorship” of protected speech.
According to an internal State Department cable sent to all US missions on December 2, consular officers must examine resumes and LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants — as well as accompanying family members — for roles in areas such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, and online safety.
“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible,” the cable said, citing a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The memo says all visa categories fall under this rule, but directs heightened scrutiny for H-1B applicants because they often work in technology, “including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”
“You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities,” it added. The new requirements apply to both first-time and repeat H-1B applicants.
The administration has made free speech — particularly what it characterises as the suppression of conservative voices online — a key part of its foreign policy posture.
US officials have frequently criticised European governments for what they call the censorship of right-wing politicians, including cases in Romania, Germany and France.
In May, Senator Marco Rubio threatened visa bans for individuals involved in restricting speech by Americans and suggested the policy could extend to foreign officials regulating US tech firms.
The latest directive also extends the US government’s expanding online-surveillance requirements. Beginning December 15, H-1B and H-4 visa applicants must make all their social media profiles publicly accessible.
“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 State Department said.
The department emphasised that a visa is a privilege, not a right, adding: “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.” It said the U.S. “must be vigilant” and ensure visa applicants pose no threat to public safety and demonstrate clear eligibility and intent to follow immigration rules.
The moves come amid a far-reaching crackdown on immigration and on the H-1B program, widely used by US tech companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers, especially from India and China. Indian tech workers and physicians form one of the largest groups of H-1B holders.
In September, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas — a change expected to significantly affect Indian applicants.
Separately, Washington has suspended with immediate effect the processing of Green Cards, US citizenship and other immigration applications from nationals of 19 “countries of concern,” following the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national. A USCIS policy memo issued Tuesday instructs officers to “place on hold,” effective immediately, all asylum applications pending a comprehensive review.
The pause covers nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen, regardless of when they entered the U.S.
The new restrictions follow the shooting of U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom died from her injuries, President Trump said during a Thanksgiving call with service members, while Wolfe remains in critical condition. The accused, 29-year-old Lakanwal, entered the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program created for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.