The United States is reviewing the social media accounts of some visa applicants, adding another hurdle for workers and other visitors to clear under the Trump administration.
It’s also adding a hurdle for embassies processing those visa applications.
The State Department said in June that certain visa applicants would have their online activity vetted as part of its screening process. Six months later, the department expanded the list of visas that were subject to “online presence reviews.”
The new rule has complicated the visa application process, causing significant delays for approvals.
They have also rattled some companies, including Google and Apple, whose legal counsels have advised staffers requiring a visa stamp to re-enter the US not to leave the country due to extended processing times resulting from the new requirements.
Consular offices began conducting online presence reviews for H-1B applicants on December 15, but they’re not the only ones affected.
Here is what you need to know.
Who does the social media reviews impact?
Earlier this month, a State Department spokesperson told Business Insider that the US is requiring H-1B visa applicants and their dependents to make their social media accounts public so consular officers can review their activity.
The H-1B visa program enables companies to temporarily employ foreign skilled workers in specialized roles. Data collected from the Department of Labor showed that almost 50% of H-1B applications are in “professional, scientific, and technical” fields. They are commonly relied on in the tech industry.
The State Department said international students and exchange visitors are also subject to “online presence” reviews, specifically for F, M, and J non-immigrant visa applicants.
In its memo, Google’s legal counsel told staffers that lengthy processing delays were affecting H-1B, H-4, F, J, and M visa holders.
Why the US is reviewing social media
Federal agencies under President Donald Trump are enforcing stricter and more restrictive immigration policies.
In January, Trump issued an executive order aimed at enhancing immigration screening. It was meant to protect American citizens from those the administration says “intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
Trump expanded upon that executive order in June and then again this week. Combined, those subsequent orders partially or fully restrict entry for citizens from 25 countries.
In September, the Trump administration also began charging a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications.
It cast the fee as a corrective. Trump said that the H-1B system had strayed from its original purpose of filling high-skilled worker shortages and was instead being “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”
In its announcement about the social media checks on December 3, the State Department said the changes were meant to increase national security.
“A US visa is a privilege, not a right,” a spokesperson for the State Department told Business Insider at the time. “In every visa case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States.”
What to do (and not do) if you are affected
It might be tempting to delete your social media accounts, but it’s not that simple.
The law firm Davis Wright Tremaine advised in a post on its website that visa applicants should review their social media to ensure there is no information that might contradict the details submitted in their applications. The law firm Duane Morris advised against deleting posts or profiles. If an immigration official notices, it could be seen as evasive.
Perhaps the most important thing a visa applicant can do is stay in the US during the process.
Shaun Foster, an immigration attorney who owns the firm PampaninFoster based in Cambridge, Mass., told Business Insider in a LinkedIn message that he is encouraging clients on H-1B visas to play it safe.
“We’ve continued to emphasize generally to stay in the US, and to keep moving forward in working toward your immigration goals from within the US,” he wrote. “We’re much better positioned, as immigration counsel, to more strongly assist and guide people from within the US. There’s less control when you start integrating international consular elements.”
How companies are reacting
Lawyers for Google and Apple have already advised some employees on visas not to travel outside the US due to delays at embassies stemming from the increased scrutiny.
“Please be aware that some US Embassies and Consulates are experiencing significant visa stamping appointment delays, currently reported as up to 12 months,” Google’s legal counsel wrote in a memo sent on Thursday to employees on visas.
Fragomen, a law firm that represents Apple, similarly said in a memo sent last week to some visa holders at the company that they should refrain from travel.
“Given the recent updates and the possibility of unpredictable, extended delays when returning to the US, we strongly recommend that employees without a valid H-1B visa stamp avoid international travel for now,” the memo said.
Both memos were seen by Business Insider.
Those companies and many others are still smarting after Trump imposed the $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applicants in September.
After that order, which initially didn’t specify that it only applied to new applicants, human resources teams at companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Salesforce, JPMorgan, and Zoom sent warnings to staffers advising them not to leave the US if they’re on an H-1B visa.
In one case, dozens of H-1B holders on an Emirates flight out of San Francisco began deplaning as soon as they received the news alert.
The widespread panic in corporate America forced the Trump administration to clarify that the fee would only apply to new visa applicants, not existing visa holders.
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