As the State Department begins social media vetting of all visa applicants, primarily H-1B, H-4 but also students and other non-immigrant visas, immigration lawyer Brad Bernstein explained that now there is unlikely to be any instant visa approval and immigration officials will go through all social media profiles of a candidate — looking for contradictions. If the social media profiles are locked, then there are chances that the visa request will be instantly canceled.
Everything that comes with your name on the Internet
Bernstein explained that immigration officials have been asked to check Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Snapchat, but the scrutiny may not remain limited to these popular social media platforms. They may check any resume posted on the Internet, any blog in your name or a YouTube comment — practically anything that comes up on the Internet on the applicant’s name.
‘Make sure your online life matches visa application’
The lawyer advised that applicants must fix any contradictions in their online profiles before the visa interview, after they make them public. They should also Google themselves to check what all comes up when their name is searched. “They’re looking for inconsistencies, signs of immigrant intent that you may want to stay in the US looking for a Green Card, hostile statements about the United States, support for extremist groups, questionable work history, or signs that posts were deleted after filing,” the lawyer said. “If your visa form says you are a full-time engineering student, but your LinkedIn shows freelance work or you are driving an Uber, now you have a credibility issue. You made a post somewhere or a comment: ‘I can’t wait to live in America forever’, now you have an immigrant intent,” Bernstein said, adding that applicants should not delete anything after filing as it would make things worse.
Social media vetting from December 15
Consular offices have been asked to go through the social media accounts of the visa applicants starting from December 15. As an immediate impact of that, visa appointments of the second half of December have been pushed to next year, after March — leaving many H-1B candidates stuck in India for an indefinite period now. Go to Source
