Social Scrutiny

The US government has introduced a new Visa application form in which the country asks applicants about their social media profiles of the past five years. The new form also asks applicants to fill in their biographical information from the past 15 years, including previous passport numbers, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, employment history, travel history and past addresses. The form also states that although providing this information is voluntary, failure to do it may delay or prevent the processing of an individual’s visa application. According to a Reuters’ report, this information is asked by officials if they feel the need to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting. The move is being seen as an attempt by the Trump administration to further tighten the norms for entry of foreign nationals into the US.