H1-B Visa Applicants To Face Stringent Vetting From Trump’s Govt

US President Donald Trump’s adminstration is doubling down on its immigration policies. On Wednesday, it announced enhanced vetting of applicants who wish to enter the country on H1-B and H-4 dependent visas. This adminstrative order is currently applicable for F, M and J non immigrant visa applicants. Now, US diplomats are asked to review applicants of H1-B visa and their dependents to check for censorship of free speech as mandated by the government. 

According to the latest guidelines, all US consular officers have been directed to review LinkedIn profiles or resumes of the H1-B visa applicants and their family members who would be travelling with them in order to find out if any of them has a history of working in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact checking, compliance and online safety. 

The State Department will undertake strict scrutiny of all applicants with the information available online to identify those who pose a threat to US national security or public safety. If the applicants are found to involve in censorship of free speech, they will be considered for rejection under Immigration and Nationality Act. 

Though all visa applicants are subject to vetting under this policy, there will be an increased scrutiny for H1-B applicants in particular as they work in sensitive sectors like social media or financial services companies involved in suppression of protected information. Both first time and repeat applicants will face the vetting. 

After coming to power earlier this year, Donald Trump has made free speech a prime focus of its foreign policy and tighten several norms for immigrants including an exorbitant hike in fees structure of H1-B visa applications.