Seems a bit intrusive if somebody wants to work in the US. Kinda 1984ish if you ask me. Of course the obvious reason is to stop terrorist from entering our county yet the real threat of terrorism is US citizens armed to the teeth with guns. The US Government Is Now Screening Visa Applicants’ Social Media Profiles The U.S. government has officially begun screening the social media profiles of those applying for entry visas. Per the new change, anyone seeking to visit or immigrate to the United States will be required to disclose links to all social media profiles from the past five years, as the AP reported. The new policy is the result of a request from President Donald Trump nearly two years ago, when in March 2017, he asked Homeland Security, along with other agencies, to put forth “a uniform baseline for screening and vetting standards and procedures.” The screening is expected to affect 710,000 immigrant visa applications and 14 million visitor or temporary stay visa applicants, such as those arriving on student or work visas. “National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications, and every prospective traveler and immigrant to the United States undergoes extensive security screening,” the State Department said. “We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect U.S. citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States.” While asking applicants to disclose personal information has long been an integral part of the State Department’s immigration process, screening applicants’ social media pages can prove to be confusing for many. New York City-based immigration lawyer Cyrus Mehta told Observer that millions will be affected by the new application entry, with the State Department flagging “suspicious terrorist types of activity” on applicants’ social media. Visa seekers will need to disclose all handles and links to their social profiles or face delays. “If they can establish you were misrepresenting information, it can be grounds for refusal,” Mehta said. Then, there’s the slippery slope that comes with judging an applicant’s social media activity at a glance. “Social media has never been a reliable indicator in determining whether someone is a threat to U.S. or not,” Mehta continued. While there isn’t a current policy that holds “anti-American” opinions against an applicant, Mehta hopes the added staff hired to screen social profiles at the State Department are trained to filter information appropriately. “It’s going to create a chilling effect on people,” Mehta explained, noting that some may feel participating in a political online discussion could hinder their visa approval hopes. “I would hope that people are not denied a visa based on a tweet that’s deemed to be against American policies, as they’re practicing free speech.”
I wonder what said "screening" would make of the past five years of anyone's online activity; might be a lot of us on the other side of the magical wall - even natural born citizens.
We finally agree GW. This is some bullshit. High level invasion of privacy and what if you never used social media? Kind of fucks the honest hard working guy from a shit hole country that can't use the internet and wants to come here the legal legit way to make a better life for his family. I call foul on this one big time.
It doesn't say those who've never used social media will be denied. I've heard those lying about never using social media would face consequences.
Fuck what too? Giving VISAs to people who've never used social media or consequences for those who lie about it?
Don't you object to the VISA concept anyway? I thought you believed in the free movement of people across borders but I don't remember for sure.
Under anarchism yes but since we are forced to live under statist control it would be foolish to have open boarders.
In this age it's foolish to not do background checks before allowing strangers into our home unsupervised. A background check without checking social media postings is incomplete. No one would be forced to give up their social media information, only those requesting to explore our country unsupervised.
I think it's a great idea. One more way to help keep unwanted trash out. Intrusive? No way, dont want certain people to know about your views and ideas, dont be an idiot and post them on the world wide web. Personally I got rid of social media years ago and am much happier because of it. I'm one of those weirdos that like talking to my friends and family face to face, not fakebook to fiber optics to fakebook. I really don't give a fuck what someone had for supper last night, I dont miss reading about others unneeded drama or reading another fake story about how wonderful a person's life is while in reality they have no life worth living. I also don't measure the size of my dick by the size of my friends list, nor does anyone actually know and associate with 800 people from around the world. However most of all, my daily limit of cutsie cat memes was pushed to the max 1 too many times. Fuck you kitty cats, fuck you and your cute playfulness....meow
Serious question here - in the anarchic utopia - what if millions of people with a culture completely opposite of yours - statists - started immigrating? What if they despised your system, and wanted nothing to do with it, just access to the resources? What if they started making little states?
That would fucking suck but really they are free to do it as long as they don't come on my private land with that shit or violate the nap against anyone not into it
It's too bad not everyone has good intentions, if they did we wouldn't need VISAs, background checks, or even ports of entry. If someone wanted to visit America they would be welcome to come look around, do what they wished, and go home. Sadly that isn't the case. Like Viking, I'll go with pragmatism over idealism.
Annually United States has about 80 million tourists. Statistically speaking the number of people who have "bad intentions" is insignificant. I don't really know what you mean by bad intentions, but violent crimes aren't committed by tourists, but by citizens who were born and raised in the United States. It's not even remotely close to anything related to visa holders.
It can already be a major imposition just for a US citizen to re-enter the country from Mexico... This is a long article but depicts some typical scenarios i've heard in recent years.. There are some real A-holes in CBP uniforms since 9/11 in the name of "homeland security"... I’m a Journalist but I Didn’t Fully Realize the Terrible Power of U.S. Border Officials Until They Violated My Rights and Privacy "I should have kept my mouth shut about the guacamole; that made things worse for me. Otherwise, what I’m about to describe could happen to any American who travels internationally. It happened 33,295 times last year." I’m a Journalist but I Didn’t Fully Realize the Terrible Power of U.S. Border Officials Until They Violated My Rights and Privacy
The reporter was writing something to sell and he exaggerated for effect. Look at this line from his article... "We passed through a detention area harshly illuminated by fluorescent lights where armed CBP officers in dark uniforms outnumbered the few tired-looking travelers" Would he have felt more secure if the lighting was more soothing? "Harshly illuminated" is him trying to make it sound as if he was abused, "armed CBP officers" "outnumbering the few tired-looking travelers" give me a break, they carry a gun for a reason, not everyone they encounter are tired travelers. All in all, the article is an appeal to emotions. Even in the beginning of the article he admits this encounter was unusual, saying "I usually get waved through immigration after one or two questions" tells us most of the time he has no problems, he met an asshole this time and is now trying to say all border patrol officers are assholes and the whole system is abusive.
