They’ll also need to give current and previous email addresses and phone numbers.
It was revealed on Thursday that the State Department in the U.S. would be seeking all visa applicants to the country to submit their social media accounts along with their visa applications.
Along with this, they will also be required to submit all of their email addresses and phone numbers for the last five years.
According to the New York Times, these new additions to the visa applications will be published in Friday’s Federal Register and the State Department has said it wants the public to comment on the proposed new requirements.
Previously, these requirements were only asked of specific applicants who were placed under additional scrutiny, such as those who have travelled to areas that are controlled by terrorist organisations.
This usually involved around 65,000 people per year, but with the new expansion of the additions, that number will go up to approximately 15 million people every year.
If the new documents are approved, then all visa applicants will need to present a list of their social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. – and provide the account names for each of those, as well as any previous accounts they may have had in the last five years.
