Effective December 15, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) will expand “online presence reviews” to H-1B and H-4 visa applicants, requiring that social media profile privacy settings be set for public viewing.
On December 3, 2025, the DOS announced that it will be expanding online presence review for all H-1B applications and their dependents, effective December 15th. DOS has been requiring social media handles be listed on the Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, for all visa applicants since May 2019. In June 2025, however, the DOS announced that all student and exchange visitor applicants for the F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas would be subject to enhanced online vetting and required to set all of their social media profiles to “public.” As of this month, that requirement has now been expanded to the employment-based H-1B visa and dependent H-4 visa categories.
Individuals who are applying for an H-1B visa or an H-4 dependent visa will be required to provide all social media usernames and handles that have been used whether the social media account is active or inactive. Additionally, all social media accounts privacy settings will need to be set to public viewing. Failure to do so could result in administrative processing and delay visa issuance. It is expected that there will be longer processing times and possibly reduced appointment availability due the additional vetting procedures. This new requirement currently only applies to those seeking H-1B or H-4 visas at a consulate, not those filing benefit requests with USCIS.
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Manish Daftari
Partner
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