Immigration Reform 2017 News: Social Media Vetting of Visa Applicants Proposed
The United States Department is opening for public scrutiny a proposal aimed at screening applicants that the government believes to be potentially dangerous. This screening will be done through the inspection of the applicants' social media accounts. According to the document released on Thursday, May 4, this move is part of the State Department's progress towards stricter vetting that the Trump administration believes will be needed to stop terror attacks in the country.
As part of this "extreme vetting," a set of questions pertaining to social media accounts will be posed to visa applicants who are selected to undergo further investigation with regards to ties with terrorism or other national security issues, according to Reuters.
In a notice to the Federal Register, additional queries and requirements will be added to the visa applications of foreign individuals "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities," according to the State Department.
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Those who are going to be subjected to heightened scrutiny will be required to reveal all of their previous passport numbers. They will be asked to submit all of their social media handles and account names going back five years. Their phone numbers and e-mail addresses are also required to be divulged. All these are in addition to disclosing 15 years of detailed biographical information for visa applicants bound for the United States.
According to Ars Technica, the general public only has until May 18 to comment on the State Department's proposal. Concerned individuals and groups may submit their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where the proposal awaits approval, through email or fax. The public can also submit their comments to the Visa Office of the Bureau of Consular Affairs online by going to the Regulations website and by leaving a comment on the document that comes up by searching for "Docket Number: DOS-2017-0019."
