The United States is verifying the social media accounts of some visa applicants, adding another hurdle for workers and other visitors to undergo screening under the Trump administration.
This also creates obstacles for embassies processing visa applications.
In June, the State Department said the activities of some visa applicants would be reviewed as part of the vetting process. Six months later, the agency expanded the list of visas subject to “online presence verification.”
The new rule has complicated the visa application process, leading to significant delays in receiving approval.
They have also alarmed some companies, including Google and Applewhose legal advisors advised employees who require a visa to re-enter the United States not to leave the country due to increased processing times as a result of the new requirements.
Consular offices began conducting online presence checks for H-1B applicants on December 15, but they are not the only ones affected.
Here's what you need to know.
Who is influenced by reviews on social networks?
Earlier this month, a State Department official told Business Insider that the US is demanding H-1B Visa Applicants and their dependents make their social media accounts public so that consular officers can monitor their activities.
H-1B Visa Program allows companies to temporarily hire foreign skilled workers for specialized positions. Data collected by the Department of Labor showed that nearly 50% of H-1B applications are in “professional, scientific and technical” fields. They are commonly relied upon in the technology industry.
The State Department said foreign students and exchange visitors are also subject to “online presence” checks, especially for F, M and J nonimmigrant visa applicants.
In a memo, Google's legal counsel told employees that long processing delays are affecting H-1B, H-4, F, J and M visa holders.
Why the US is rethinking social media
Federal agencies under President Donald Trump are pursuing stricter and more restrictive immigration policies.
In January, Trump issued an executive order aimed at strengthening immigration enforcement. It was intended to protect American citizens from those who, in the administration's words, “intend to carry out terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, support hateful ideologies, or otherwise abuse immigration laws for malicious purposes.”
Trump elaborated on the order in June and again this week. Collectively, these subsequent decrees partially or completely restrict the entry of citizens from 25 countries.
In September, the Trump administration also began charging for $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications.
The commission is considered as a corrective measure. Trump said the H-1B system had deviated from its original purpose of filling shortages of highly skilled workers and was instead “intentionally used to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with low-wage, low-skilled labor.”
In its Dec. 3 statement on social media audits, the State Department said the changes were intended to enhance national security.
“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” a State Department spokesperson told Business Insider at the time. “In every visa case, we take the necessary time to ensure that the applicant does not pose a risk to the security of the United States.”
What to do (and not to do) if you are affected by it
It may be tempting to delete your social media accounts, but it's not that easy.
Law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, in a post on its website, advised visa applicants to check their social media to ensure there is no information that might conflict with the details provided in their applications. Law firm Duane Morris advised against deleting posts and profiles. If an immigration officer notices this, it may be considered evasion.
Perhaps the most important thing a visa applicant can do is remain in the United States during the process.
Sean Foster, an immigration attorney who owns the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm PampaninFoster, told Business Insider in a LinkedIn post that he urges clients on H-1B visas to tread carefully.
“We continue to focus on remaining in the US and continuing to move forward with your immigration goals within the US,” he wrote. “As an immigration lawyer, we are much better positioned to be more proactive in helping and guiding people from the US. When you start to integrate international consular elements, there is less control.”
How companies are reacting
Lawyers for Google and Apple have already advised some employees with visas not to travel outside the United States due to delays at embassies due to increased security.
“Please be aware that some U.S. embassies and consulates are experiencing significant visa processing delays, currently up to 12 months,” Google legal counsel wrote in a memo sent Thursday to visa-holding employees.
Fragomen, the law firm representing Apple, also said in a memo sent last week to some of the company's visa holders that they should refrain from travel.
“Given recent news and the potential for unpredictable, long delays in returning to the United States, we strongly encourage employees without a valid H-1B visa to avoid international travel for the time being,” the memo states.
Both memos were reviewed by Business Insider.
These and many other companies are still suffering after Trump's $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applicants in September.
Following the order, which did not initially specify that it applied only to new applicants, human resources departments at companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Salesforce, JPMorgan and Zoom sent out warnings to employees advising them not to leave the US if they have an H-1B visa.
In one case, dozens of H-1B owners on an Emirates flight from San Francisco began disembarking the plane as soon as they received a news alert.
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.
