Overview
- U.S. State Department guidance expands online‑presence review to all H‑1B workers and H‑4 dependents starting December 15, requiring applicants to make social‑media accounts public and disclose recent usernames.
- U.S. consulates in India, including Chennai and Hyderabad, have canceled or moved many mid‑December H‑1B/H‑4 interviews, citing operational constraints tied to the new checks, and the U.S. Embassy warned rescheduled applicants not to appear on original dates.
- Several applicants report interviews pushed to March 2026, with biometric appointments often unchanged; consular notices say most applicants can reschedule only once and may forfeit expired fee receipts.
- An internal State Department cable reported by media instructs officers to examine resumes and LinkedIn profiles and to consider ineligibility for those deemed responsible for or complicit in censorship of protected expression, heightening scrutiny of content‑moderation and related roles.
- The expansion follows earlier vetting for F, M and J visas and comes amid broader enforcement actions under the Trump administration, with the State Department publicly noting about 85,000 visa revocations since January and attorneys warning of more delays and administrative processing.