State Department To Require Social Media Review For H-1B Visa Applicants

The U.S. State Department announced on Dec. 3 that it will add an online presence review to the vetting requirements for all H-1B visa applicants and their dependents starting Dec. 15.

H-1B visa applicants and their dependents will have to make their social media profiles public as of Dec. 15, according to the department. Student visa and exchange visitor applicants are already subject to this review.

The screening requirement, the department said, is part of an effort to safeguard Americans and national interests while ensuring that “all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought.”

“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the department stated in its announcement. “A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.”

The department did not specify what criteria will be used to screen the online activity of H-1B visa applicants and their dependents. The Epoch Times reached out to the department for further details, but the request was not immediately returned.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers for jobs that require “the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in the specific specialty.”

On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation introducing a one-time $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications in a bid to curb the abuse of the visa program, saying it has been exploited by companies to replace American workers “with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”

Trump told Fox News on Nov. 11 that his administration aims to strike a balance between stricter immigration controls and maintaining employers’ access to the labor they need, particularly in high-skill industries facing shortages of qualified candidates.

He cited a recent immigration enforcement operation at a South Korean-owned battery plant in Georgia to illustrate his point that some industries require highly specialized expertise.

“In Georgia, they raided because they wanted illegal immigrants out,” Trump said. “They had people from South Korea that make batteries all their lives. You know, making batteries [is] very complicated. It’s not an easy thing, and very dangerous. A lot of explosions, a lot of problems.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Sept. 24 proposed further changes to the H-1B visa selection process to prioritize higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers.

The proposed policy seeks to replace the current random selection process for allocating H-1B visa registrations with a weighted system when annual demands for the visas exceed the 85,000 statutory limit.

DHS said the change would “better serve the Congressional intent” for the H-1B program while still allowing employers to hire H-1B workers at all wage levels.