In a broad expansion of the information gathered from applicants for US visas, the federal government is proposing to collect social media identities from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States, according to a State Department filing on Friday.

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The proposal, which must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), would require most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to list on a federal application form all of the social media identities they have used in the past five years.

The information will be used to vet and identify them, according to the proposals, which would affect about 14.7 million people annually.

Previously, under rules instituted in May of 2017, consular officials were instructed to collect social media identifiers only when they determined “that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting,” a State Department official said at the time.

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The State Department said then that the tighter vetting would apply only to those “who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities.”

The new proposal was published in the Federal Register on Friday. The public has 60 days to comment on the revised procedures before the OMB approves or rejects them.

The proposals support President Donald Trump’s promise to institute “extreme vetting” of foreigners entering the United states in order to prevent terrorism.

If approved, the measures also will require applicants to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history. They will be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities, the department said.

The department said it intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the additional information.</s>In a broad expansion of the information gathered from applicants for US visas, the federal government is proposing to collect social media identities from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States, according to a state department filing on Friday.



The proposal, if approved by the office of management and budget (OMB), would require most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to list all social media identities they have used in the past five years.

The information will be used to vet and identify them, according to the proposals, which would affect about 14.7 million people annually.

The proposals support Donald Trump’s promise to institute “extreme vetting” of foreigners entering the United states to prevent terrorism.

Previously, under rules instituted last May, consular officials were instructed to collect social media identifiers only when they determined “that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting”, a state department official said at the time.

The state department said then that the tighter vetting would apply only to those “who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities”.

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern, saying the move would have a “chilling” effect on freedom of speech and association.

“People will now have to wonder if what they say online will be misconstrued or misunderstood by a government official,” Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a statement.

“We’re also concerned about how the Trump administration defines the vague and over-broad term ‘terrorist activities’ because it is inherently political and can be used to discriminate against immigrants who have done nothing wrong,” she said.

“There is a real risk that social media vetting will unfairly target immigrants and travelers from Muslim-majority countries for discriminatory visa denials, without doing anything to protect national security.*

The new proposal was published in the Federal Register on Friday. The public has 60 days to comment on the revised procedures before the OMB approves or rejects them.

If approved, the measures also will require applicants to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history. They will be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities, the department said.

The department said it intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the additional information.</s>US State Department proposes asking visa applicants for social media identities from last five years

A US federal government proposal to collect social media identities of nearly everyone who seeks entry into the country has been described as a "chilling" encroachment on freedom of speech and association.

The State Department filed a proposal which would require most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to list all social media identities they have used in the past five years, as well as previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history over the same period.

The information would be used to vet and identify them, which would affect about 14.7 million people annually.

The proposal goes further than rules instituted last May. Those changes instructed consular officials to collect social media identities only when they determined "that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting," a State Department official said at the time.

The proposal requires approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) but it supports President Donald Trump's campaign promise to institute "extreme vetting" of foreigners entering the US to prevent terrorism.

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern, saying the move would have a "chilling" effect on freedom of speech and association.

"People will now have to wonder if what they say online will be misconstrued or misunderstood by a government official," Hina Shamsi, director of ACLU's National Security Project, said in a statement.

"We're also concerned about how the Trump administration defines the vague and over-broad term a 'terrorist activities' because it is inherently political and can be used to discriminate against immigrants who have done nothing wrong.

The public has 60 days to comment on the revised procedures before the OMB approves or rejects them.

If approved, applicants will also be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities.

The department said it intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the additional information.</s>State Department: U.S. visa applicants to be asked for social media history

The U.S. government plans to collect social media history from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States, State Department proposals showed on Friday as part of President Donald Trump’s policy of “extreme vetting.”, Reuters reports.

Most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants - about 14.7 million people - will be asked to list on a federal application form all of the social media identities that they have used in the past five years - information that will be used to vet and identify them, according to the proposals.

The State Department will publish the proposals in a notice in the Federal Register on Friday seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget. The public has 60 days to comment on the requests.

The proposals support President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge in 2016 to crack down on illegal immigration for security reasons and his call for “extreme vetting” of foreigners entering the United States.</s>The Trump administration plans to require immigrants applying to come to the United States to submit five years of social media history, it announced Thursday, setting up a potential scouring of their Twitter and Facebook histories.

The move follows the administration’s emphasis on “extreme vetting” of would-be immigrants to the US, and is an extension of efforts by the previous administration to more closely scrutinize social media after the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

According to notices submitted by the State Department on Thursday, set for formal publication on Friday, the government plans to require nearly all visa applicants to the US to submit five years of social media handles for specific platforms identified by the government — and with an option to list handles for other platforms not explicitly required.

The administration expects the move to affect nearly 15 million would-be immigrants to the United States, according to the documents. That would include applicants for legal permanent residency. There are exemptions for diplomatic and official visas, the State Department said.

The decision will not take effect immediately — the publication of the planned change to visa applications on Friday will start a 60-day clock for the public to comment on the move.

The potential scouring of social media postings by potential immigrants is sure to rankle privacy and civil liberties advocates, who have been vocal in opposing such moves going back to efforts by the Obama administration to collect such information on a more selective and voluntary basis.

Critics complain the moves, amid broader efforts by the administration, are not only invasive on privacy grounds, but also effectively limit legal immigration to the US by slowing the process down, making it more burdensome and making it more difficult to be accepted for a visa.

Federal authorities argue the moves are necessary for national security.

In addition to requiring the five years of social media history, the application will also ask for previous telephone numbers, email addresses, prior immigration violations and any family history of involvement in terrorist activities, according to the notice.

Since its early days, the administration has been telegraphing a desire to more closely dig through the backgrounds and social media histories of foreign travelers, but Thursday’s move is the first time that it will formally require virtually all applicants to come to the US to disclose that information.

After the San Bernardino terrorist attack in 2015, greater attention was placed on immigrants’ social media use, when it was revealed that one of the attackers had advocated jihad in posts on a private social media account under a pseudonym that authorities did not find before allowing her to come to the US.

The move by the Trump administration stops short of requiring passwords or access to those social media accounts, although then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly suggested last year that it was being considered.

The administration has been pursuing “extreme vetting” of foreigners as a centerpiece of its immigration and national security policy, including through the contentious travel ban that remains the subject of heavy litigation.</s>The US State Department said today that it wants to require all visa applicants to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers, vastly expanding the Trump administration's enhanced vetting of potential immigrants and visitors.

In documents to be published in Friday's Federal Register, the department said it wants the public to comment on the proposed new requirements, which will affect nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the US each year.

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.

The new rules would apply to virtually all applicants for immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

The department estimates they would affect 710,000 immigrant visa applicants and 14 million non-immigrant visa applicants, including those who want to come to the US for business or education, according to the documents.

The documents were posted on the Federal Register's website today, but the 60-day public comment period will not begin until Friday's edition is published.

If the requirements are approved by the Office of Management and Budget, applications for all visa types would list a number of social media platforms and require the applicant to provide any account names they may have had on them over the previous five years.

It would also give the applicant the option to volunteer information about social media accounts on platforms not listed in the application.

In addition to their social media histories, visa applicants will be asked for five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses, international travel and deportation status, as well as whether any family members have been involved in terrorist activities.

Only applicants for certain diplomatic and official visa types may be exempted from the requirements, the documents said.</s>If you’re thinking about applying for a US visa anytime soon, you may have to hand over your social media history.

That’s because the federal government has put forward new plans proposing to collect social media identities from nearly everyone wanting to enter America.

It would require most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to list all social media identities they have used in the past five years to vet and identify them.

The proposals support President Donald Trump’s promise to institute ‘extreme vetting’ of foreigners entering the United states to prevent terrorism and would affect around 14.7 million annually.

Previously, consular officials were instructed to collect social media identifiers only when they determined that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said: ‘People will now have to wonder if what they say online will be misconstrued or misunderstood by a government official.

‘We are also concerned about how the Trump administration defines the vague and over-broad term “terrorist activities” because it is inherently political and can be used to discriminate against immigrants who have done nothing wrong,’ she said.

‘There is a real risk that social media vetting will unfairly target immigrants and travelers from Muslim-majority countries for discriminatory visa denials, without doing anything to protect national security.’

The public has 60 days to comment on the revised procedures before the the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves or rejects them.

If approved, the measures also will require applicants to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history.

They will be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities, the department said.

The department said it intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the additional information.

MORE: Girl, 3, dead and two other children injured in ‘senseless’ shooting

MORE: Homeless couple back on the streets one month after getting dream home</s>The U.S. government plans to collect social media history from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States, State Department proposals showed on Friday as part of President Donald Trump’s policy of “extreme vetting.”

Most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants – about 14.7 million people – will be asked to list on a federal application form all of the social media identities that they have used in the past five years – information that will be used to vet and identify them, according to the proposals.

The State Department will publish the proposals in a notice in the Federal Register on Friday seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget. The public has 60 days to comment on the requests.

The proposals support President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge in 2016 to crack down on illegal immigration for security reasons and his call for “extreme vetting” of foreigners entering the United States.

The department said it intends not to routinely ask most diplomatic and official visa applicants for the social media information.

If approved, applicants also will be required to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and their international travel history. They will be asked if they have been deported or removed from any country and whether family members have been involved in terrorist activities, the department said.

Courts have struck down the first two versions of Trump’s travel ban and the current one is narrower in scope than its predecessors. The Supreme Court will consider its legality this spring and a decision is expected in June.—Reuters</s>People who wish to live the American dream may soon need to share their social media details. According to a state department filing on Friday, the federal government is proposing to collect social media identities from people who are seeking entry into the US.

Apart from social media handles, the Trump administration wants all US visa applicants to submit previous mobile numbers, email IDs, and details of their previous travel histories.

Under the proposed norms both the immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants have to disclose all social media profiles they used in the past five years.

Citizens from countries like UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan which have the visa-free travel status would not be affected by the new requirement. However, people from countries like India, China, Brazil and Mexico who apply to visit the United States for work, business or a holiday purpose could be facing difficulties with the proposed move.

The proposal covers social media platforms like Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Myspace, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine, and YouTube.

The new proposal will not take effect immediately, it needs to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The public can comment on the proposed new requirements and it set off a 60-day period for public comment, which ends on May 29.

The American Civil Liberties Union reportedly expressed concern over the move, as an effect on freedom of speech and association. "People will now have to wonder if what they say online will be misconstrued or misunderstood by a government official," Reuters quotes Hina Shamsi, director ACLU's National Security Project as saying.

"We're also concerned about how the Trump administration defines the vague and over-broad term 'terrorist activities' because it is inherently political and can be used to discriminate against immigrants who have done nothing wrong," she said.

"There is a real risk that social media vetting will unfairly target immigrants and travelers from Muslim-majority countries for discriminatory visa denials, without doing anything to protect national security", she added.
The Trump administration through the United States Department of State publishes a 60-day notice of request for public comment, proposing to collect social media identities from nearly everyone who seeks entry into the United States.