A big challenge has emerged for millions of Indians dreaming of jobs in America. The Donald Trump administration has made the H-1B visa process more stringent than ever. Now not just your resume, but your LinkedIn account, social media profiles, work history and even your family profiles will undergo intense scrutiny by the US authorities. This step has been taken at a time when American tech companies recruit employees on a large scale from countries like India and China and H-1B visa is the most important medium for foreign professionals.
According to a report, the US State Department issued a cable on December 2 directing its embassies and consulates around the world to thoroughly screen H-1B visa applicants. The most important part of this new order is that the visas of applicants who are found to be linked to free speech censorship will be rejected outright.
LinkedIn and online investigation
Under the new policy, consular officers will now scrutinize applicants’ LinkedIn profile, previous employment, job responsibilities and online activity in detail. It will be seen whether he has worked in sectors like misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance or online safety. The US administration argues that some of these roles may sometimes involve suppressing expression and that any such person may be considered ineligible for a visa under a special provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
employment history check
Further, it is also directed that the complete employment history of H-1B applicants be closely scrutinized. This policy will be applicable not only to new applicants but also to those who want to extend or renew their visa. According to US officials, H-1B holders often work in tech, social media and financial services.
Indian IT sector worried
Experts believe that with this strictness, the scrutiny process of H-1B applications is likely to become longer. This may be a matter of concern for the Indian IT and tech sector, because the backbone of these industries in America are foreign workers.
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