New Visa Hurdle
Social media posts may doom US travel chances says lawyer
A new mandatory requirement for Jamaicans and other citizens across the globe to disclose all the social media platforms they have visited in the last five years, along with their user names, when they apply for American visas will have a “chilling effect” on free speech, a Jamaica-born immigration attorney based in the United States (US) has said.
The assertion by Dahlia Walker Huntington came yesterday after the American Embassy in Kingston confirmed that the application forms for immigrant and non-immigrant visas have been updated by the State Department in Washington to request additional information from most applicants, including what it describes as “social-media identifiers” on popular portals such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The stipulation will affect the more than 14 million non-immigrant visa applicants that jostle for Washington’s stamp of approval every year. Diplomatic and some official-type visa applicants will be exempted.
Announced by the Trump administration more than a year ago, the new protocol took effect last Friday, May 31.
According to reports, the new form questions whether applicants have a “social-media presence and asks them to select from a list provided each social-media platform they have used within the last five years.
“In the space next to the platform’s name, enter the username or handle you have used on that platform,” it reportedly asks, while making it clear that passwords should not be provided.
The embassy did not provide details about the changes to the visa application forms, but explained that national security was a major consideration.
“Collecting this additional information from visa applicants will strengthen our process for vetting these applicants and confirming their identity,” it said in a statement.
“National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications, and every prospective traveller and immigrant to the United States undergoes extensive security screening,” the statement said.
“We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect US citizens while supporting legitimate travel to the United States. In keeping in line with advances with technology, our visa applications have been updated to incorporate these changes,” it added.
But while acknowledging that applicants for immigrant visas have to undergo a detailed background check, Walker Huntington said the new requirement raises a number of important questions.
From fiscal year 2013 to 2016, the number of US visa applications by Jamaicans rose from approximately 85,000 per year to 185,000 per year.—The Gleaner
The assertion by Dahlia Walker Huntington came yesterday after the American Embassy in Kingston confirmed that the application forms for immigrant and non-immigrant visas have been updated by the State Department in Washington to request additional information from most applicants, including what it describes as “social-media identifiers” on popular portals such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The stipulation will affect the more than 14 million non-immigrant visa applicants that jostle for Washington’s stamp of approval every year. Diplomatic and some official-type visa applicants will be exempted.
Announced by the Trump administration more than a year ago, the new protocol took effect last Friday, May 31.
According to reports, the new form questions whether applicants have a “social-media presence and asks them to select from a list provided each social-media platform they have used within the last five years.
“In the space next to the platform’s name, enter the username or handle you have used on that platform,” it reportedly asks, while making it clear that passwords should not be provided.
The embassy did not provide details about the changes to the visa application forms, but explained that national security was a major consideration.
“Collecting this additional information from visa applicants will strengthen our process for vetting these applicants and confirming their identity,” it said in a statement.
“National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications, and every prospective traveller and immigrant to the United States undergoes extensive security screening,” the statement said.
“We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect US citizens while supporting legitimate travel to the United States. In keeping in line with advances with technology, our visa applications have been updated to incorporate these changes,” it added.
But while acknowledging that applicants for immigrant visas have to undergo a detailed background check, Walker Huntington said the new requirement raises a number of important questions.
From fiscal year 2013 to 2016, the number of US visa applications by Jamaicans rose from approximately 85,000 per year to 185,000 per year.—The Gleaner