WASHINGTON, Dec 4 — The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered stricter vetting of H-1B visa applicants, focusing on individuals involved in online censorship, according to an internal State Department memo.
The directive instructs U.S. consular officers to review resumes and LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants, as well as their accompanying family members, to determine if they have worked in areas including content moderation, fact-checking, compliance, or other roles that could involve suppressing protected speech.
“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,” the cable said, citing a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The memo, sent to all U.S. missions on December 2, marks a new focus on free speech in visa screenings for foreign workers in technology sectors, including social media and financial services companies. “You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities,” it noted.
A State Department spokesperson said, “We do not support aliens coming to the United States to work as censors muzzling Americans.” The spokesperson added, “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.”
The new vetting applies to both first-time and repeat H-1B applicants. Trump has made free speech, especially the perceived suppression of conservative voices online, a key focus of his foreign policy.
Officials have previously criticized European authorities, including in Germany, France, and Romania, for what they see as the suppression of right-wing views. Senator Marco Rubio in May suggested visa restrictions could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies.
The administration has already tightened vetting for student visas, screening social media for content hostile to the U.S., and imposed new fees on H-1B visas in September as part of a broader immigration crackdown.
