US Requests For Social Media Handles Of Visa Applicants

According to a State Department official, consular officers can now demand extra information from applicants they deem to require 'more rigorous national security vetting'

The United States has begun asking some would-be visitors applying for visas to provide their identities on social media, among other more vigorous screening methods.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP new security procedures had gone into effect on May 25 for travelers deemed to present a risk.


The plan has already raised the concerns of civil liberties advocates, who fear travellers who pose no terrorist threat may be stigmatized for their political or religious views.

It also comes at a time of controversy over another new measure, President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban all travellers from six mainly-Muslim countries.

But in a March 6 memorandum, Trump vowed to tighten controls on who can enter the United States, including by studying their online behavior.

According to the US official, consular officers can now demand extra information from applicants they deem to require “more rigorous national security vetting.”

“Such visa applicants will be asked to provide additional information, including their social media handles, prior passport numbers, additional information about family members, and a longer history of past travel, employment, and contact information,” she said.

Nevertheless, she added, these changes will “affect only a fraction of one percent of the more than 13 million annual visa applicants worldwide.”

There is no suggestion that travellers will have to surrender passwords to their accounts.

But if they have, for example, posted suspect material on Facebook or “followed” an extremist account on Twitter or Instagram they may face additional questions.

The tougher visa rules also come after the US administration banned travellers from several airports in the Muslim world from using laptops on passenger flights.

This came after intelligence agencies reportedly found evidence that Islamic extremists have perfected the technology to hide a viable bomb in a working computer.