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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday June 03 2017, @07:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the your-myspace-account-please dept.

The Trump administration has rolled out a new questionnaire for U.S. visa applicants worldwide that asks for social media handles for the last five years and biographical information going back 15 years.

The new questions, part of an effort to tighten vetting of would-be visitors to the United States, was approved on May 23 by the Office of Management and Budget despite criticism from a range of education officials and academic groups during a public comment period.

Critics argued that the new questions would be overly burdensome, lead to long delays in processing and discourage international students and scientists from coming to the United States.

Under the new procedures, consular officials can request all prior passport numbers, five years' worth of social media handles, email addresses and phone numbers and 15 years of biographical information including addresses, employment and travel history.

Officials will request the additional information when they determine "that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting," a State Department official said on Wednesday.

The State Department said earlier the tighter vetting would apply to visa applicants "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities."


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 03 2017, @08:01PM (5 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 03 2017, @08:01PM (#519959) Journal

    So if social media vetting is now part of the process, does it help or hurt to be an anti-social non-Facebook user (aka a good terrorist soymiscreant who doesn't leave breadcrumbs)?

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  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday June 03 2017, @09:23PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Saturday June 03 2017, @09:23PM (#519988)

    does it help or hurt to be an anti-social non-Facebook user

    Ooooh, you're in a heap of trouble...

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday June 03 2017, @11:27PM (3 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday June 03 2017, @11:27PM (#520016) Journal

    Antisocial? You're fucked, man. You should do what I do - tell everyone that you're just an asocial asshole.