Trump admin orders H-1B, H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public

The US government has expanded screening and vetting measures for H1B visa applicants and their H4 dependents directing them to keep the privacy settings on all their social media profiles set to publicIn a new order issued Wednesday the State Department said beginning December 15 a review of the online presence for all H1B applicants and their dependents will be conductedStudents and exchange visitors were already subject to such scrutiny which has now been extended to include those applying for H1B and H4 visasTo facilitate this vetting all applicants for H1B and their dependents H4 F M and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public the State Department saidUnderscoring that a US visa is a privilege and not a right the department said it uses all available information in screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible or pose a threat to Americas national security or public safetyEvery visa adjudication is a national security decision it saidThe department said the US must be vigilant to ensure applicants do not intend to harm Americans and that all visa applicants credibly establish eligibility and intent to comply with the terms of their admissionThe directive is the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration to tighten immigration rulesThe administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse of the H1B visa programme used largely by US technology companies to hire foreign workersIndian professionals including tech workers and physicians form one of the largest groups of H1B visa holdersIn September US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers imposing a onetime USD 100000 fee on new H1B work visas an order that could significantly impact Indian workers seeking temporary employment in the USSeparately Washington has also paused with immediate effect Green Card US citizenship and other immigration applications for people hailing from 19 countries of concern following the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan nationalA policy memorandum issued Tuesday directs the US Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS to place on hold effective immediately all asylum applications regardless of the immigrants country of nationality pending a comprehensive reviewThe pause also applies to all immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries previously covered by the administrations travel banThese countries are Afghanistan Burma Burundi Chad Congo Cuba Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Laos Libya Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela and YemenThe applications will be on hold pending a comprehensive review regardless of entry date the directive saidThe new guidance follows the shooting of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom 20 and US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe 24Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries Trump said Thursday during a Thanksgiving call with service members while Wolfe remains in critical conditionThe accused Lakanwal 29 had entered the US through Operation Allies Welcome a Bidenera programme for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever