H-1B visa row: Trump admin orders enhanced vetting for applicants — what are the new requirements?

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it had increased vetting of H-1B visa applicants for highly skilled workers, instructing that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection, according to an internal State Department memo.H-1B visas allow US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields and are crucial for US tech companies, which recruit heavily from countries including India and China. Many of those companies’ leaders threw their support behind Trump in the last presidential election. The cable, sent to all US missions on December 2, ordered US consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants and family members travelling with them to see if they had worked in areas including misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety.In a press release, the US department said that all the applicants need to change their profile setting from private to public. "As of December 15, the Department will expand the requirement that an online presence review be conducted for all H-1B applicants and their dependents, in addition to the students and exchange visitors already subject to this review. 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 statement read. "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," under a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the cable said.Details on the enhanced vetting for H-1B visas, including the focus on censorship and free speech, had not been previously reported. The State Dept did not respond to a request for comment on the contents of the cable.The cable said all visa applicants were subject to this policy but sought a heightened review for H-1B applicants given they frequently worked in the technology sector "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," the cable said.The new vetting requirements applied to both new and repeat applicants.The Trump administration made free speech, particularly what it saw as the stifling of conservative voices online, a focus of its foreign policy. Officials repeatedly weighed in on European politics to denounce what they said was suppression of right-wing politicians, including in Romania, Germany and France, accusing European authorities of censoring views like criticism of immigration in the name of countering disinformation.In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who censored speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating US tech companies.The Trump administration had already significantly tightened its vetting of applicants for student visas, ordering US consular officers to screen for any social media posts that might be hostile towards the United States.As part of his wide-ranging crackdown on immigration, Trump in September imposed new fees on H-1B visas.Trump and his Republican allies had repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that had centred on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections.The H-1B visa is relied on heavily by Indian tech professionals, meaning stricter US vetting rules will disproportionately affect Indian applicants. Under the Trump administration’s new policy, certain categories of Indian workers are now more vulnerable to delays, intensive questioning and potential denials — and, for the first time, even spouses and children will face expanded background checks. The change adds a new layer of uncertainty for thousands of Indian families in the US immigration pipeline.According to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) reported by Newsweek, only three Indian firms ranked among the top 25 employers with approved H-1B petitions for initial employment in fiscal year 2025. The top seven Indian companies together secured just 4,573 H-1B approvals for initial employment in FY25 — a 70% drop from FY15 and a 37% decline compared to FY24. By contrast, US tech giants such as Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google dominated new approvals, highlighting the increasingly central role of American companies in sponsoring high-skilled foreign workers, the report said.