The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) has announced an expansion of its screening and vetting procedures for nonimmigrant visa applicants, effective December 15, 2025. (See formal announcement HERE.) Under the new policy, all H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents will be subject to an online presence review as part of the visa adjudication process. This requirement extends the existing review procedures already applicable to F, M, and J student and exchange visitor visa categories.

In order to accomplish this review, applicants for H-1B and H-4 visas, as well as those in the F, M, and J classifications, are now instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all social media profiles to “public.” DOS will utilize information from these online profiles, along with other available sources, to identify individuals who may be inadmissible to the United States, including those who could pose a threat to national security or public safety.

The expansion of online presence reviews underscores DOS’ commitment to vigilance in the visa issuance process, but, the tradeoff is that the expansion is wrecking havoc on previously scheduled interview times and appointments. As of this writing, Mission India seems to be most impacted with reports of visa interviews being postponed for several months.  Nonimmigrant visa applicants should closely monitor communications from the consulate and follow instructions accordingly. Individuals with upcoming travel plans should monitor this situation closely and only travel if times are confirmed and/or the individual and other affected parties are able to accommodate an extended absence from the United States should appointment times be postponed during the course of the travel.

The DOS has largely confirmed that Visa Application Center (“VAC”) / biometrics appointments will remain unchanged and can continue as scheduled even if the subsequent interview is postponed. Notably, the restrictions on rescheduling of appointments remains applicable, perhaps the most relevant of which is that only one reschedule is permitted. As such, although it is possible for applicants to try and reschedule a postponed interview to an earlier date should one become available, this cannot be accomplished multiple times as part of the same application process.

Applicants should also remember that DOS restrictions on third county national (“TCN”) nonimmigrant visa processing (i.e., applying for a nonimmigrant visa at a consulate outside of one’s home country) remain in place. As such, despite the delays and challenges for current nonimmigrant visa applicants, it is generally not possible for applicants to “forum shop” in order to obtain expedited options via TCN processing at this time.

Koley Jessen will continue to monitor developments related to this issue and will be prepared to provide updates as they come. We encourage you to contact a member of our Immigration practice group with any questions, or if you would like assistance in strategizing other options in light of these developments.

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