Foreign travelers to the US that are eligible for a visa waiver may be asked to provide their social media accounts, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which maintains that visitors won't be profiled over any "social media identifiers."
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the new supplemental questionnaire on May 23, according to Reuters.
The form requests visa applicants to list information about their employment, place of residence, and foreign travel over the previous 15 years, as well as user names for any social media platforms “used to create or share content” for the previous five years.
he new form, designated DS-5535, appears to be a temporary measure. The OMB granted it emergency approval for six months, rather than the usual three years, and the forms carry the expiration date of November 30, 2017.
Consular officials will use the questionnaire when they determine “that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting,” a State Department official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Filling out the form is voluntary, though applicants may be rejected if they decline to provide information or deliberately lie.
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