‘America First’: White House Signals Crackdown On Work Permits | World News

The White House on Saturday emphasized the new momentum behind its immigration agenda and tied employment restrictions to the broader “America First” policy framework.

“AMERICA FIRST,” the White House wrote in a post about X.

“President Trump is tightening work permits and review processes,” the statement said.

In keeping with this approach, the U.S. government implemented mandatory social media checks starting December 15, introducing enhanced screening requirements for H-1B visa applicants and H-4 dependents.

Under the new rules, applicants must change their social media accounts to a “public” environment so authorities can review online activity as part of the visa assessment process.

In an order issued Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said: “To facilitate this review, all applicants for H-1B and dependent (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are directed to set the privacy settings on all social media profiles to ‘public’.”

The Ministry reiterated that obtaining a visa to enter the United States is “not a right, but a privilege” and said, “Every visa decision is a national security decision.”

He said consular officers will rely on all available information to determine admissibility and assess security risks.

He also noted that the United States must “be careful” to make sure visa applicants do not intend to cause harm.

The announcement raised concerns among Indian citizens who represent one of the largest groups of H-1B workers in the United States.

The policy change follows other immigration-related steps under President Donald Trump’s administration, including efforts to address allegations of abuse of the H-1B program, which is frequently used by U.S. technology companies.

In early September, Trump issued a memorandum titled Restricting Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers that imposed a one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B visa applications; This is likely to impact Indian professionals seeking employment in the US.

In another development, Washington temporarily suspended processing of Green Card, citizenship and other immigration applications for citizens of 19 “countries of concern” following a shooting incident involving an Afghan citizen.

A memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released Tuesday instructs officials to “hold” all asylum requests for further review.

The action was taken following a shooting in Washington, D.C. that resulted in the death of U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically injured U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Lakanwal, reportedly came to the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, a program created for Afghan citizens after the Taliban came to power in 2021.