New form requests detailed information.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed it in June 2016, and it was conducted in electronic visa applications in December of the same year. Now it has also come to a questionnaire for visa applications at US embassies.
New form requests detailed information.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed it in June 2016, and it was conducted in electronic visa applications in December of the same year. Now it has also come to a questionnaire for visa applications at US embassies.
Want names of social media
It's the case that the US would like to know who you are on social media before giving you a visa to let go inland.
The new supplementary visa form for visa advisors at the US State Department embassies asks applicants to provide usernames they have had on social media over the last five years, as well as all email addresses used in the same period.
"Volunteer" to fill in
The new questions are admittedly volunteers to respond, but on the form it is also stated that the visa application can be denied or delayed if you do not answer them.
"I understand that mistaken or misleading information or concealment of material facts of me in this form may lead to permanent exclusion from the United States," it says in the form. At worst, one can be removed from the country or subjected to prosecution.
Applies to very few
However, the new form will only be used by consular staff if they decide that "such information is required to verify the identity or to make a more thorough assessment of national security."
However, the proposal of the State Department to use the new form estimates that these additional questions will only be set to a "fraction of one percent of the more than 13 million visa applications to the United States from around the world."
According to the State Department's own calculations, the form will only be used for approximately 65,000 screen applications a year.
Nor does it apply to Norwegians who are in the Visa Waiver program and only need to register electronically - but even here, they are asked about social media, albeit optional.