The new proposal of the Donald Trump administration to seek five years of social media history has spread confusion as this rule will be imposed on people from countries that are on US visa waiver. The five-year social media history is the latest in a series of immigration crackdowns that the Trump administration unleashed this month, and this is not only meant for H-1B visa holders. All visitors will be asked to disclose their social nedia history of the last five years. But the rule is not final yet.
Applicable for visitors from no-visa countries too
Several European countries, South Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Israel, Chile, Qatar are on visa waiver list, which means nationals of these countries do not need a visa to enter the US. But they too have to disclose social media history of five years for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization application.
Telephone numbers of last 5 years, email addresses of last 10 years
The proposal says visitors will also have to provide additional information “when feasible,” disclosing telephone numbers used in the last five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos, and biometrics including facial, fingerprint, DNA and iris data. Additional information also includes details about their family members, their names, their telephone numbers, dates of birth, places of birth and residences.
5 years of social media history versus H-1B social media vetting
The H-1B social media vetting that is set to kick in from December 15 is different from the social media history that US now mulls to seek from all travelers. The H-1B social media vetting is already a rule and it’s applicable toh H-1B applicants and their spouses. Social media history of five years is a proposal intended for everyone trying to set a foot in the US soil, notwithstanding which country they are from and for what purpose they want to visit the US.
