Trump H-1B visa: The Trump administration has ordered for another strict vetting of Visas. This time, a cable regarding stricter and more detailed checks on H-1B applicants has been sent to the consulate offices from the State Department. This will lead to increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, with anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech considered for rejection, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters.
What is an H-1B visa and enhanced vetting?
H-1B visas are crucial for U.S. tech companies, which recruit heavily from countries including India and China. Many of those companies' leaders threw their support behind Trump in the last presidential election. Many tech professionals, especially from countries like India and China, use H-1B visas to work in U.S. technology and other specialised sectors.
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“Enhanced vetting” means U.S. consular officers will now apply stricter and more detailed checks on H-1B applicants than before — especially if the applicant (or accompanying family) has worked in certain roles.
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Impact on Indians
The US H-1B visa is used heavily by Indian techies, so stricter checks will affect Indians more than any other group. Under the Trump administration’s new rules, some categories of Indian applicants are more vulnerable to delays, extra questioning, or even visa denials. Even spouses and children of H-1B workers will face extra background checks. This is new — and adds uncertainty for thousands of Indian families.
India makes up more than 70% of all H-1B visa holders, and Indian tech professionals play a major role in the U.S. technology workforce. Because so many Indians work in key IT and digital roles, they form the largest group affected by the new vetting rules. Many of these jobs fall into categories the U.S. now plans to examine more closely, putting Indian applicants under greater scrutiny than others.
What does the US cable say?
The U.S. government sent a message to all its embassies on December 2, telling visa officers to closely check the resumes and LinkedIn profiles of people applying for H-1B visas, as well as their family members who plan to travel with them. The officers must look for any past work in areas such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, or online safety.
"If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible," under a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the cable said.