US adds social media scrutiny to H-1B visas, flags work tied to ‘misinformation’ and censorship

The United States is tightening vetting for H-1B visa applicants, expanding background checks to include mandatory public social media reviews and heightened scrutiny of professionals linked to fields such as content moderation, misinformation research and online safety.

The State Department confirmed Thursday that all H-1B applicants, including dependants and renewals, must ensure social media accounts are publicly viewable, mirroring a similar rule applied to student visas in July. The stated goal is to verify applicants “do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests”.

An internal State Department cable dated December 2, obtained by Reuters, orders consular officers to probe LinkedIn histories and employment records for anyone involved in “misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety” or companies “involved in the suppression of protected expression”.

If officials find evidence that an applicant “was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States,” they are instructed to pursue an ineligibility finding.

H-1B visas allow US employers to hire foreign talent in specialised fields like engineering, medicine, finance and academia, often serving as a first step toward permanent residency.

The move marks a policy shift. For years, the State Department and USAID funded fact-checking projects abroad to combat misinformation, now, that same line of work could trigger visa complications.

President Donald Trump has made “free speech” a defining theme since returning to the White House. He was previously banned from X after January 6 but reinstated under Elon Musk in 2022. One of his first new-term orders banned “federal censorship” and warned foreign officials involved in pressuring tech platforms could be denied entry.