The Harry S. Truman Federal Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of State, in a 2024 file photo. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers “censorship” of Americans’ speech.
The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.