United States: U.S. Consulates Cancelling Some H-1B and H-4 Visa Appointments Due to New Online Presence Review

Last week, the State Department announced that all H-1B specialty occupation and H-4 dependent visa applicants will undergo a review of their online presence as part of their visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad starting December 15. A visa applicant’s online presence includes their social media accounts and activity, as well as information in online databases and websites. Under the online presence review process, H-1B and H-4 visa applicants will be required to set their social media privacy settings to “public” in order to facilitate State Department review.

In June 2025, the State Department introduced this online presence review policy for F, M, and J student visa applicants; the addition of H-1B and H-4 visa applicants represents the first expansion of the policy. The focus of the online presence review for H-1B and H-4 applicants is reportedly whether the applicant is deemed to have been responsible for or complicit in the “censorship or attempted censorship” of U.S. citizens at any time in their employment or personal history. The vetting guidelines for F, M, and J visa applicants reportedly focuses more heavily on indications of “hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.”

Foreign nationals with H-1B and H-4 visa appointments scheduled on or after December 15 should be prepared for the possibility the consular post may cancel their appointment and reschedule it, possibly to a date several months in the future. In addition to the rescheduling of existing appointments, wait times for new visa appointments – for H-1B, H-4, and other nonimmigrant visa types – are likely to increase due to decreased consular capacity.

The new vetting standards also mean that H-1B and H-4 applicants may face an increased likelihood of being flagged for lengthy background checks and longer waits for visa issuance.

H-1B visa applicants faced with appointment cancellation or the likelihood of a cancellation should keep in close contact with their employer. In addition, any foreign national planning international travel – whether they hold a valid visa or will need to apply for a new one – should review some important considerations before making plans to travel abroad. This is especially important for foreign nationals who have had any arrest in their history, regardless of whether they have received and traveled on subsequent visas.

Fragomen is closely monitoring the implementation of the State Department’s vetting initiatives and will provide updates as new information becomes available.