(reuters_tickers)
By Yeganeh Torbati
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – 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. (http://bit.ly/2qBSrpv)
more: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/trump-administration-approves-tougher-visa-vetting–including-social-media-checks/43225138
(Editing by Sue Horton and Lisa Shumaker)
Categories: America, Americas, The Muslim Times, United States, USA
15 years travel history? I knew I should have kept a diary. In my work in Baghdad from 2003 to 2011 how many times did I fly between Amman and Baghdad? 100 times? 50 times? I worked in 15 countries. And – by the grace of Allah – was able to visit quite a few more. Ah, yes, no diary, no US visa? I should try to visit USA, just for the fun of it, and see what happens.