Past efforts in moderating content and combating misinformation and disinformation may be grounds for rejection.
Published December 4, 2025
The United States is expanding its vetting process for highly skilled H-1B visa applicants and further tightening social media checks, as applicants who operate in areas such as misinformation and disinformation also face increased scrutiny.
The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that all H-1B applicants and their dependents must make their full social media profiles public to ensure “no intent to harm the American people or national interests.” The move follows a similar order in July requiring all student visa applicants to make their social media profiles public.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
H-1B visas typically allow U.S. companies to hire foreign employees with “specialized” knowledge in fields such as academia, medicine, technology, finance, and engineering. Although the H -1B is classified as a temporary visa, it is actually a means to immigrate to the United States.
As part of the increased checks, the State Department will also scrutinize H-1B applications for work in areas that promote censorship of “free speech,” according to internal cables seen by Reuters.
The Dec. 2 cable orders consular officials to scrutinize applicants’ LinkedIn and work history for jobs involving “misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, online safety” or “social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”
The new rules apply to accompanying family members and applicants renewing H-1B visas.
“A finding that the applicant is ineligible should be pursued if we discover evidence that the applicant was responsible for or complicit in the censorship or attempted censorship of protected speech in the United States,” the Cable said.
The move marks a departure for the U.S. State Department, which, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), once funded overseas projects aimed at fact-checking and combating misinformation and disinformation.
Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has moved to roll back what he sees as restrictions on “free speech,” usually by conservative voices. Trump himself was deplatformed from X, formerly known as Twitter, following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He returned after tech billionaire and free speech absolutist Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022.
One of his first acts as president was to sign an executive order banning “federal censorship” of free speech. In May, the State Department threatened to ban foreign officials from entering the United States who have sought to suppress free speech, including by pressuring American tech companies to regulate social media content.
Much of Trump’s anger has been focused on Europe, which has stricter content regulations and tougher hate speech laws than the United States. It’s unclear how the Trump administration will approach U.S. allies like Australia, which this month banned social media for children under 16.
