U.S. Visa Applicants Will Need to Give Social Media Records|美簽擬新規 申請者提交5年社交媒體紀錄

On Mar. 30, the United States announced that all U.S. visa applicants will need to submit their social media records from the past five years for screening, along with other personal information. This measure will apply to applicants of both immigrant visas and non-immigrant visas, and is estimated to affect over 14 million people. The next day, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted No more DACA deal, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

United States President Donald Trump recently promised to step up the screening of foreign citizens wishing to immigrate to the United States to prevent the entry of terrorists. On Mar. 30, the U.S. Department of State announced a new measure. In the future, all U.S. visa applicants will need to submit their social media records from 20 social media platforms, including Facebook, for screening. This measure will need to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget before it goes into effect. People have 60 days to provide their feedback on the measure. After the office approves it, U.S. visa applicants will also have to provide past telephone numbers, email addresses, repatriation records and information on whether family members have taken part in terrorist activities. The measure is estimated to affect 14.7 million applicants for immigrant and non-immigrant visas. The only people who are exempt are diplomatic staff applying for non-immigrant visas, foreign government employees applying for visas and citizens of the 40 or so countries in the U.S.' Visa Waiver Program. These are key U.S. allies and include the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany. Analysts say this measure panders to Trump, who has advocated stringent screening for all foreigners wishing to enter the U.S. In other news, Trump tweeted on Apr. 1 that Mexican illegal immigrants are trying to take advantage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He went on to write that as Democrats are not supporting new immigration policies and are allowing more illegal immigrants in, he is no longer willing to continue with DACA.