US federal authorities are considering a significant expansion of applicant screening, requiring the social media accounts from people seeking green cards, US citizenship, or asylum and refugee status.
This change, proposed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency responsible for legal migration oversight, was published in the Federal Register this week. USCIS claims that this information is “necessary for a rigorous vetting and screening” of all applicants seeking “immigration-related benefits.”
The USCIS justification for this proposed social media surveillance policy cites the need to stick to the executive order titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” issued by President Trump during his initial days in office.
This order mandates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other relevant government bodies:
Identify all resources that may be used to ensure that all aliens seeking admission to the United States, or who are already in the United States, are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.
The public has a 60-day window, closing on May 5th, to provide feedback on the proposed social media account disclosure policy following its publication in the Federal Register. As outlined in the Federal Register notice, the USCIS plans to mandate that applicants for specific immigration benefits include their social media handles on application forms.
This requirement will apply to individuals seeking green cards, naturalization, asylum, refugee status, and relatives of those granted asylum or refugee status. USCIS estimates that this proposed policy will impact over 3.5 million people.
