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New Delhi: The US government on Wednesday announced that it is planning to increase vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. H-1B visas, an important US visa which allows employers in the country to hire foreign workers in specialty fields is something that a lot of US technology companies rely on. Many of these companies recruit heavily from countries including India and China.
According to latest reports, the Trump administration has directed US consular officers to review LinkedIn profiles and resumes of the H-1B visa applicants and their family members. Also to be checked is whether anyone has worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety.
The cable, sent to all U.S. missions on December 2, orders U.S. consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants and family members who would be traveling with them. This is to ascertain whether any of them have worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others.
"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.
These stipulations to be checked, which include censorship and free speech checks are new to the H1B Visa rules. The related cable said that all visa applicants were subject to this policy but sought a heightened review for the H-1B applicants given they frequently worked in the technology sector "including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression."
"You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities," the cable further added. The new vetting requirements apply to both new and repeat applicants. In relation to the new stipulations, a State Department spokesperson said, "We do not support aliens coming to the United States to work as censors muzzling Americans." "In the past, the President himself was the victim of this kind of abuse when social media companies locked his accounts. He does not want other Americans to suffer this way. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would both insult and injure the American people," the spokesperson further added.
The new stipulations are not new and are in line with how the Trump administration’s moves towards free speech, especially those it sees as stifling of conservative voices online. This has with time become a focus of US foreign policy, something that is apparent in the current memo as well.
Further it is also in continuation with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, a long-cherished agenda of US President Donald Trump. Trump only recently also imposed new fees on H-1B visas.
