United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will start using a foreign national’s perceived “antisemitic activity” on social media, as well as the physical harassment of Jewish persons, as a basis on which to deny an application for an immigration benefit. USCIS notes that this new policy will be immediately effective and will affect foreign nationals applying for lawful permanent resident status, as well as foreign students and aliens affiliated with colleges and universities it believes are “linked to antisemitic activity”. The announcement does not mention beneficiaries of nonimmigrant petitions such as H-1B, L-1, and O-1 petitions, but it is likely that such beneficiaries will also be screened for antisemitic activity.

Under the new policy, which is effective immediately, USCIS will consider as a negative factor in its discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests any social media content that indicates that the applicant or beneficiary is “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity.”

USCIS has not provided examples of the type of content that could be considered antisemitic, but the following is a non-exhaustive list of the types of content that we believe may be deemed antisemitic by USCIS if found in the social media posts of a person seeking an immigration benefit in the United States:

• • Any expression of sympathy or support for a terrorist organization, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah (the Houthis), especially if the applicant or beneficiary is of Middle Eastern origin. 
  • Any language or depiction that could be considered hostile to, or critical of the Jewish race or religion, especially if the applicant or beneficiary is of Middle Eastern origin. 
  • Any criticism of the state of Israel or of its political leadership. 
  • Any favorable commentary about nations that traditionally have been enemies of Israel, including, most importantly, Iran. 
  • Any favorable commentary about historical events in which Jewish persons have been victims, including, most importantly, the Holocaust. 

Please note that such content need not be authored or created by the person seeking an immigration benefit. The reposting of such content by the person or even the simple presence of such content in the person’s social media may be considered problematic by USCIS. All persons filing applications with USCIS, as well as all persons that are beneficiaries of petitions filed with the agency are encouraged to review their social media presence for language that could be interpreted as antisemitic or contain any of the content identified above and consult with their immigration counsel. Such content may, under the new guidance, result in the denial of the application or petition.