US Expands Social Media Vetting, Cancels H-1B Visa Appointments for Many Candidates

Many H-1B and H-4 visa appointments initially scheduled for mid- to late-December 2025 are being cancelled and rescheduled for March 2026, in line with a report by Fragomen. In cancelling and rescheduling the visa appointments, US consular posts are citing the brand new on-line presence evaluation beginning for H-1B and H-4 candidates on December 15.

The US State Division will now require H-1B candidates and dependents to make social-media accounts public for evaluation. This expanded vetting is meant to strengthen background checks however introduces new procedural steps that will deter potential candidates.

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Electronic mail correspondence from the consulates confirms that underneath the brand new evaluation coverage, consular posts will interview fewer H-1B and H-4 candidates every day, and subsequently, posts are cancelling upcoming appointments to align with the tempo of the brand new anticipated processing queue, mentioned Fragomen.

“Applicant biometrics appointments overseas will not be being cancelled; biometrics are being taken on the scheduled time, however candidates are then knowledgeable that their visa appointment will probably be rescheduled to a later date, generally by a number of months.”

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