"America First": White House signals crackdown on work permits

The White House on Saturday highlighted fresh momentum behind its immigration agenda tying employmentrelated restrictions to its broader America First policy framework In a post on X the White House wrote AMERICA FIRST It added President Trump is cracking down on work permits and tightening the vetting processIn line with this approach the US government has rolled out enhanced screening requirements for H1B visa applicants and their H4 dependents introducing mandatory social media checks from December 15 Under the new guidelines applicants must change their social media accounts to a public setting so officials can review online activity as part of the visa assessment processIn an order issued Wednesday the US State Department said To facilitate this vetting all applicants for H1B and their dependents H4 F M and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public The department reiterated that obtaining a visa to enter the United States is a privilege and not a right noting Every visa adjudication is a national security decisionIt said consular officers would rely on all available information to determine admissibility and assess security risks It further noted that the United States must be vigilant to ensure that visa applicants do not intend to cause harm The announcement has sparked concern among Indian nationals who represent one of the largest groups of H1B workers in the United StatesThe policy shift follows other immigrationrelated steps under President Donald Trumps administration including efforts to address alleged misuse of the H1B programme frequently utilised by US technology companies Earlier in September Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers levying a onetime fee of USD 100000 on new H1B visa applications a move likely to affect Indian professionals seeking employment in the USIn another development Washington has temporarily halted the processing of Green Card citizenship and other immigration applications for nationals belonging to 19 countries of concern after a shooting incident involving an Afghan citizen A US Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS memorandum issued Tuesday directs officials to place on hold all asylum claims pending further reviewThe action was taken after a shooting in Washington DC that resulted in the death of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom 20 and left US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe 24 critically injured The suspect identified as 29yearold Lakanwal reportedly arrived in the United States through Operation Allies Welcome a programme set up for Afghan nationals following the 2021 Taliban takeoverThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever