Do you want to apply for a U.S. travel visa in the near future? Don't be surprised if the visa officer asks you to provide details of your social media account, because this request is legal. So if you want to move to the United States in the future, don't make some improper remarks on your personal account!
US President trump has approved a new plan that allows us border officials to require visa applicants to submit historical information about their social media accounts.
Relevant US government departments have launched a new questionnaire, and border officials can ask visa applicants to submit their social media account user names in the past five years.
It is expected that the visa applicant will take 60 minutes to fill in the supplementary questions of the visa applicant. It also requires applicants to fill in other information, such as places they have been and worked in the past 15 years, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses used in the past five years, etc.
An official of the US State Department said that any applicant who needs to undergo 'more stringent national security review' needs to fill out this form.
Of course, the applicant can also decide not to fill in these information, but the form says: 'if all the information is not provided as required, the visa application may be rejected.'
It is reported that the State Department estimates that this form will only be issued to 0.5% of visa applicants.
This is not the first time that U.S. border officials have asked non-U.S. citizens to provide details of their social media accounts.
The politician reported in December 2016 that travelers entering the United States under the visa free program can 'choose' whether to fill in information related to their online behavior. The so-called visa free program means that citizens of some countries can enter the United States visa free, provided that the purpose of visiting the United States is tourism or business, and the stay time does not exceed 90 days.
However, the new questionnaire is only applicable to visa applicants who do not use the visa free program.