The Donald Trump administration has ordered U.S. embassies to reject visa applicants with prior experience in fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, or online safety roles — a sweeping policy shift that could disproportionately affect technology professionals, especially those applying from India.
According to a memo obtained by Reuters and reviewed by media outlets, consular officials are directed to deny visas to anyone seen as “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.” The directive covers all visa categories — including tourist and journalist visas — but has a sharp focus on H‑1B visa applicants, widely used by foreign skilled workers in tech.
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Under the new regime, applicants’ employment history, LinkedIn profiles, social media accounts, and even public media mentions will be scrutinised for any involvement with roles related to “misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety.”
The policy appears aimed particularly at individuals who worked on online-safety matters — such as combating child sexual abuse material, hate content, or harmful online behaviour. Critics argue that the policy conflates critical moderation work with censorship, and say it may undermine efforts to keep online platforms safe while risking the livelihoods of thousands of foreign tech professionals.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
