H-1B: Federal government to check applicants’ social media, orders accounts set to ‘public’

Federal authorities will examine social media activity by all foreign citizens applying for the H-1B skilled-worker visa and the related H-4 spousal visa, and applicants must start keeping their social media accounts public, federal authorities announced this week.

The U.S. Department of State’s move to start conducting the “online presence reviews,” and bar applicants from keeping their social media accounts set to “private,” echoes a policy imposed earlier for student visas. Accounts of H-1B and H-4 applicants must be set to “public” by Dec. 15, the State Department said.

“The State Department uses all available information in visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security or