Goa, Dec. 5 -- In a significant tightening of immigration vetting, the US government has expanded screening measures for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, instructing them to keep all social media profiles set to "public." The new directive, issued by the State Department on Wednesday, will take effect from December 15 and involves a detailed review of applicants' online presence.

While students and exchange visitors were already subjected to such monitoring, the requirement has now been extended to those applying for H-1B and H-4 visas. "To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media pro...