US demands social media handles for visa applicants – TheNigerialawyer

The United States State Department says you will now have to
submit your social media usernames when applying for a visa into
the North American country.

According to BBC, the new regulations also require that people
also submit five years’ worth of email addresses and phone
numbers.

This is part of the state department’s plan to ensure national
security in the country.

“National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa
applications, and every prospective traveler and immigrant to the
United States undergoes extensive security screening,” the
department said via an initial proposal in 2018.

“We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our
screening processes to protect U.S. citizens, while supporting
legitimate travel to the United States.”

In 2017, the United States President Donald Trump said the
country will embark on “extreme vetting” process to keep America
and its citizens safe.

The US had carried out this process in the past, but this
affects about 65,000 people per year.

The new policy will make now affect nearly 15 million people who
apply to enter the United States annually.

For Nigeria, the Trump administration is said to be mulling
stricter means to keep Nigerians from overstaying visas in
America.

According to a report by WSJ, the Trump administration wants “to
reduce overstay rates for visas and the visa waiver program — and
it’s well known that the administration is working to ensure
faithful implementation of immigration welfare rules to protect
American taxpayers”.

The new policy requirements will not affect applicants for
diplomatic and official visa types.

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