Do I need to submit social media personal information to apply for a US visa?

According to documents released by the US federal government on March 30th, the State Council intends to require US visa applicants to submit a number of personal information such as social media user names.

The document shows that the new regulations require visa applicants to provide personal information on designated social media platforms in the past five years; Applicants can also choose to provide personal information on non-designated social media platforms. In addition, visa applicants also need to provide telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, international travel records used in the past five years, and information such as whether they have violated immigration laws, been deported, and whether any family members have participated in terrorist activities. The State Council said that the purpose of collecting this information is to identify and review visa applicants.

The State Council said in the document that the public is now invited to express their opinions on the new regulations within 60 days. The new regulations must be approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget before implementation.

According to reports, before the United States only required visa applicants who needed additional review to provide personal information such as social media, e-mail and telephone numbers, this new regulation will apply to almost all US visa applicants. According to the State Council's estimation, 7,654,380,000 immigrant visa applicants and 6,544,380,000 non-immigrant visa applicants will be affected. The new regulations show that specific visa applicants such as diplomacy and official business can be exempted from visas.