IN a move in line with US President Donald Trump’s effort for more stringent immigration policy, the US Department of State is seeking to formalise how it may collect more and varied information from its visa application process for citizens of all countries.
In a proposal published on Good Friday, a copy of which the Jamaica Observer obtained, the State Department is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information from visa applicants’ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit and YouTube accounts.
The Office of Management and Budget serves the president of the United States in overseeing the implementation of his vision across the Executive Branch. Specifically, the OMB’s mission is to assist the president in meeting his policy, budget, management and regulatory objectives and to fulfil the agency’s statutory responsibilities.
If approved, nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the US each year will be affected. Previously, social media, email and phone number histories were only sought from applicants identified for extra scrutiny, such as those who have travelled to areas controlled by terrorist organisations. An estimated 65,000 people per year are in that category. In the last fiscal year, 559,536 people applied for US immigrant visas and 9,681,913 for various forms of visitor visa.
“The Department (of State) is revising the collection to add several additional questions for immigrant visa applicants. One question lists multiple social media platforms and requires the applicant to provide any identifiers used by applicants for those platforms during the five years preceding the date of application,” the document said.
The document also said that the applicant will be given the option to provide information about “any social media identifiers associated with any platforms other than those that are listed that the applicant has used in the last five years”.
It said that the Department of State will collect this information for identity resolution and vetting purposes, based on statutory visa eligibility standards.
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The US will also be seeking five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses, and international travel data; all prior immigration violations; and whether specified family members have been involved in terrorist activities.
The measures apply both to the DS-260 — Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Form — and the DS-160 — Application for Nonimmigrant Visa.
The measures announced will not include diplomatic or official travellers.
The State Department said that it will accept comments from the public up to May 29, 2018.
Well they not the only ones doing so. When you approve for a city job they requesting ALL UR SOCIAL MEDIA NAMES AND PASSEORDS AND EMAIL ADDRESSES
That is when u in their country but they have no right to ask that of people not living here..dem stink
I totally agree them not even ask for that when applying for citizenship so why ask that of visitors
I see nothing wrong with it go ahead a lot a Dem shadyyyyyyyy an need to be stopped …SM is where u find out a lot about some people Suh unuh can gwaan delete it ain’t going nowhere
Dem want you pornhub ands tube8 name to? Bcuz dem can get that too while dem at it. Dem full a shit like batty. Unnu think a visa alone dem want it fah? Wait ten years dem av u a court and all manner of evil dem dig up back. All when a joke all when u thoughts change.