You Are Now Required To List Your Social Media Names When Applying For A US VISA

If we ever emphasised the need to keep your social media profiles clean, you now have yet another reason to keep it cleaner. An article on Bloomberg said:

The U.S. now wants to know the social-media user names of people applying for visas, part of stepped up screening of foreign visitors and immigrants.

The change, first announced last year and taking effect this month, follows on a 2017 order by President Donald Trump requiring heightened vetting for visa applicants, according to a State Department official.

This means the US Immigration officers can check your posts, your associates and get to know a digital you and make conclusions based on your digital footprint. If ever you want to go to the US you may want to stay away from posting, commenting or reacting to any of the following:

1. Racial discriminatory posts
2. Posts that talk about violence or that promote violence
3. Anything that looks like terrorism (even in the tiniest way)
4. Be wary of the friends you have, guilty by association is real.
5. If possible stay away/don’t befriend people who have been banned from entering the US.

While all of that may be harmless, let’s not forget the immigration officers are also human. They are entitled to their own opinions and they make these decisions based on the information they have at hand.