From Fox News: The Trump administration has reportedly ordered U.S. consular officers to apply heightened scrutiny to H-1B visa applicants and reject anyone found to have participated in “censorship or attempted censorship” of protected speech in the United States, according to an internal State Department cable.
Reuters reported that the directive, sent to all U.S. missions on Dec. 2, instructs consular officers to review resumes, LinkedIn profiles and any publicly available information to determine whether an applicant — or family members traveling with them — previously worked in areas including misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance or online safety.
According to the cable cited by Reuters, officers should “pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible” if they uncover evidence the individual was “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.”
While the directive applies to all visa categories, the cable calls for special scrutiny of H-1B applicants because they “frequently work in the technology sector, including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.” The vetting requirements apply to both new and repeat applicants.
Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers spoke out in a video message over the weekend, slamming the censorship in Europe.
I’m traveling in Europe on a diplomatic passport, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to say a few things ordinary Europeans (and Brits) can’t. https://t.co/CazvGQ31at pic.twitter.com/drgkXQ6S9P
— Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers (@UnderSecPD) December 6, 2025
Last week, Vice President JD Vance slammed the European Union after learning the organization has slapped a massive $149 fine against Elon Musk’s X platform, accusing Musk of “deceiving” users.
“Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” Vance wrote.
Exclusive: The Trump administration announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, with an internal State Department memo saying that anyone involved in ‘censorship’ of free speech be considered for rejection https://t.co/keO6yTzwre
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 4, 2025
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