H-1B visa chaos deepens as US expands social media vetting to applicants, dependents

Confusion and last-minute travel disruptions have hit US visa applicants across India after the US State Department’s expanded social media vetting policy triggered widespread delays for H-1B applicants.

On Wednesday, a US Embassy spokesperson said while online-presence reviews were previously limited to F, M and J visa categories, the screening will now extend to all H-1B speciality occupation workers and their H-4 dependents beginning December 15.

“The Department of State conducts thorough vetting of all visa applicants, including an online presence review of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M and J non-immigrant classifications. Beginning December 15, we are expanding the online presence review to all speciality occupation temporary worker (H-1B) visa applicants and their dependents in the H-4 visa classification,” the spokesperson said.

“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 US… The Department of State regularly shifts appointments as needed to match resource availability. We will communicate any changes directly to affected visa applicants,” the spokesperson added.

Following this expanded vetting, many December appointments have now been pushed to early next year.

On Tuesday night, the US Embassy issued an advisory on X urging applicants to adhere strictly to the new appointment dates. “If you have received an email advising that your visa appointment has been rescheduled, Mission India looks forward to assisting you on your new appointment date… Arriving on your previously scheduled appointment date will result in your being denied admittance to the Embassy or Consulate,” the Embassy wrote.

The disruption comes as Washington heightens scrutiny of applicants’ digital footprints, requiring them to make social media accounts public and disclose all usernames used in the past five years.

The situation worsened after the Trump administration announced a sweeping expansion of security vetting for H-1B applicants on December 3.

An internal State Department cable instructed consular officers to review applicants’ resumes and LinkedIn profiles, along with those of their family members, for any involvement in areas such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance or online safety.

Consulates will now interview fewer applicants each day due to the expanded checks, significantly reducing capacity and prompting widespread cancellation and rescheduling of visa appointments.