US visa applicants must now declassify their email and social media accounts
The US State Department has begun to require from almost everyone applying for an entry visa to the country information about their pages on social networks, email addresses, and phone numbers, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The American publication The Hill writes about this.
The requirement went into effect at the beginning of the month following the approval of changes to application forms for virtually all types of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas to the United States. Among other things, they now require the visa applicant to provide “social media credentials.”
The changes, which were proposed in March 2018, would affect about 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to the United States each year, according to the AP. “National security is our first priority when reviewing visa applications, and every traveler or immigrant entering the United States is subject to thorough screening,” the agency quotes a State Department spokesman. “We are continually working to find mechanisms to improve our screening procedures to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens while supporting legal travel to the United States.”
The new visa application forms list several social media platforms and require the applicant to provide the names of their accounts that they have used over the past five years. Visa applicants are also given the opportunity to provide information about social media accounts not listed on the document.
In addition to social media data, applicants are now asked to provide information on international travel over the past five years, telephone numbers and email addresses for the same period. At the same time, a clarifying question is added whether members of the applicant’s family were involved in terrorist activities.
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Now the editors are aware.