US wants to require social media names on every visa application

Any person applying for a visa to the United States must provide their social media usernames, email addresses, and phone numbers. This is stated in a proposal published by the US government.

The proposal is an extension of existing practice, whereby social media details, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers are only requested for applications that require additional research. This concerns persons who travel from or through countries that the US considers to be risky. About 65,000 people fall under that category, Bloomberg reports.

The extension to all visa applications will soon require millions of people to provide their social media usernames, phone numbers, and email addresses from the previous five years when entering the US. Every year, almost fifteen million people apply for a visa.

The rules still need to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget. A consultation period of sixty days will follow after Friday’s publication.