New US Visa Rules: Trump administration has directed to reject visas of people associated with content moderation and fact-checking. This will have a negative impact on Indian tech workers dependent on H-1B visas.
Washington: The Donald Trump administration has directed US Embassy officials to reject visa applications of people working in fact-checking, content moderation, law enforcement and online security. It is clear from a memo of the State Department that these new visa rules will affect foreign employees of the tech sector, especially candidates from countries like India. Indian tech workers are most dependent on H-1B visas. Under this new law, H-1B visa applicants may be denied a visa based on their previous employment. The new directive instructs consular officers to “deny visas to anyone responsible for or involved in censoring or attempting to censor U.S. responses.” This directive applies to all types of visas, including journalists and tourists.
However, its main target is H-1B visas given to experts in the technology and social media sectors. Applicants’ professional records, LinkedIn profiles and social media accounts will be closely scrutinized to determine whether they have been involved in activities such as fact-checking, content moderation or law enforcement. Evidence of involvement in such activities may result in disqualification for a visa. About 70 percent of H-1B visa holders are from India. Jobs like content moderation, fact-checking and online safety are largely outsourced abroad, especially to India, by many companies, including American tech companies. This new policy may adversely affect job opportunities in America for thousands of Indian tech professionals.
Trump administration’s stance
The Trump administration argues that this decision has been taken to protect the freedom of speech of American citizens. A State Department spokesperson said, “Let’s make clear that the Administration will protect citizens’ free speech against foreigners who seek to censor Americans. We do not support foreigners who come to serve as censors to silence Americans.” At the same time, deep concern has been expressed over considering jobs related to ‘Trust and Safety’ as ‘censorship’. Experts in this area say, “‘Trust and Safety’ is a huge field, which includes important life-saving tasks like preventing child sexual abuse material, fraud and financial scams. Global employees working in this area play a vital role in ensuring the safety of Americans.” The policy is also being criticized that it will blur the line between content regulation and political bias, and that workers doing legal and technical work could also be denied visas.