US to vet visa and green card applicants for “anti-American” views, expands social media screening

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has introduced a new policy requiring immigration officers to evaluate whether applicants for visas, green cards, or citizenship have expressed "anti-American" views.

The criteria include affiliations with extremist or terrorist ideologies, antisemitic content, or support for groups deemed hostile to US values.

Under updated guidance, holding or promoting anti-American ideologies is now considered a deeply negative factor during discretionary immigration decisions.

While “anti-Americanism” isn’t clearly defined, the policy extends prior social media review protocols to include such ideological evaluations.

The change builds upon recent immigration reforms and social media scrutiny introduced earlier this year. The Trump administration and its officials assert that US immigration benefits are privileges, not rights—thus justifying stricter reviews of applicants’ beliefs.

Critics have voiced sharp concerns about the policy’s vagueness and free speech implications. Legal experts warn it risks conflating dissent with disloyalty, effectively reinstituting ideological litmus tests reminiscent of McCarthy-era practices.

They argue the policy leaves too much power in officers’ hands and may disproportionately target marginalized groups.

Moreover, organizations like the American Immigration Council and ACLU have warned such broad vetting parameters could deter legally compliant applicants—students, workers, and families—from seeking entry, especially when their political views may be critical of US policies.