The United States has abruptly postponed H-1B visa interviews scheduled in India, causing significant disruption and anxiety for Indian applicants. This last-minute rescheduling is directly connected to the US State Department’s new security measure: expanded social media vetting.
The Core Issue: Operational Constraints
- The Link: US Embassy communications, according to multiple attorneys, explicitly cited operational constraints resulting from the new social media scrutiny as the reason for rescheduling.
- The Delay: Interviews originally set for mid-to-late December have been pushed back by months, with some new appointments scheduled as late as the following summer. This creates major problems for current US workers seeking to renew their visa stamps, potentially forcing them to wait abroad for months.
The New Vetting Rule
- Expansion of Scrutiny: The US government has extended its social media screening process—previously applied to student (F, M, J) visas—to include H-1B and H-4 (dependent) visa applicants.
- Requirement: Applicants are now instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to “public” for review.
- Goal: The State Department states that “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.” The goal of the review is to identify any posts deemed “negative about the US” or to ensure the applicant poses no threat and demonstrates eligibility.
- Context: This move is viewed as the latest step in the Trump administration’s broader crackdown and enhanced scrutiny of the H-1B program, which is primarily utilized by high-skilled Indian workers.
Precedent for Online Activity
The article notes that the US has previously revoked visas, including those of international students, based on online activities like involvement in campus protests or posts deemed supportive of militant groups, sometimes using AI-driven programs for scrutiny.
