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Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

reuters.com

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Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#31

Post by blhack »

The headline here does not really seem to reflect the content of the article:

>The State Department said earlier the tighter vetting would apply to visa applicants "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities."

This sounds like it authorizes them to ask for social media handles (usernames) for up to 5 years into the past.

This doesn't mean everybody coming into the country has to turn over all of their social media logins and passwords.

Still ridiculous.

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#32

Post by moonshinefe »

andymcsherry wrote: post #19

This appears not to apply to all applicants. From here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/04/2017-08... > Respondents: Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities.

Gee look, media leaving out key information in order to get a rise out of people and more clicks. This in a nutshell is why I try to avoid following US politics these days (I guess my bad for clicking on it this time heh).

Very interesting how Reuters doesn't mention this only affects 0.5% of people who apply and whose regular information is deemed to warrant further investigation. Doesn't sound as sensationalistic when you leave that little detail out.

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#33

Post by wapz »

hoodoof wrote: post #15

".... and discourage international students and scientists from coming to the United States." Not just students and scientists - it will discourage everyone from coming to the United States, as if it wasn't unappealing already. Tourists will go elsewhere. It's good for tourism in other countries. Important to remember though that these Trump decisions are the will of the people - democracy in action.

> these Trump decisions are the will of the people

I wouldn't say his decisions are the will of the people but rather the result of the political system in action.

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#34

Post by reustle »

blhack wrote: post #31

The headline here does not really seem to reflect the content of the article: >The State Department said earlier the tighter vetting would apply to visa applicants "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities." This sounds like it authorizes them to ask for social media handles (usernames) for up to 5 years into the past.…

> in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities

> Still ridiculous.

I mean, at what level does it becomes not ridiculous to have deeper vetting?

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#35

Post by Veratyr »

reustle wrote: post #34
blhack wrote: post #31

The headline here does not really seem to reflect the content of the article: >The State Department said earlier the tighter vetting would apply to visa applicants "who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities." This sounds like it authorizes them to ask for social media handles (usernames) for up to 5 years into the past.…

> in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities > Still ridiculous. I mean, at what level does it becomes not ridiculous to have deeper vetting?

Disclaimer: I'm an Australian in the US on a work visa.

I'd consider it "not ridiculous" if the vetting was limited to ensuring:

- That my visa application is valid: If I'm coming to work, I'm doing it for a real job and I really do have all the necessary qualifications and my travel plans match my intent.

- That I'm likely to leave the US. I think it's fine to ask whether I have ties to my home country or to the US and whether I've broken the terms of another visa.

- That I'm not already a criminal. It'd be fine to be asked for a police report.

I consider the following ridiculous:

- Anything related to potential future terrorism. If I wanted to enter the US to kill people, why on earth would I get a visa when I could just cross the border illegally or use a fake passport?

- Compelling disclosure of any information a citizen could deny a police officer who lacked a warrant.

Then again, I understand that the US considers visas to be a privilege and I respect its choice to deny them to whoever it wishes. If it decides I'm not good enough, I'm more than happy to take my economic output elsewhere (and I will if they ever ask for details regarding my online presence).

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#36

Post by ajdlinux »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #22
johansch wrote: post #2

Submitting a complete record of 15 years of travel history would be quite challenging to many people, to say the least.

Ya, do they want exact dates? F*ck if I know. I have trouble remember what dates I'm in the states when asked on my tax return, or when I was in California when asked on my state tax return. I could try to figure it out via my passport stamps, I guess, at least for those countries that actually still stamp.

There's a reason I started keeping a full diary of every flight I've taken starting about 5 years ago...

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#37

Post by cnst »

1024core wrote: post #27
mac01021 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you visit so many countries?

That's nobody's business. Maybe s/he likes to travel. Especially if you're in EU where there are practically no borders west of Russia, you can visit dozens of countries without sweat.

Also practically no borders within Russia, and you can visit dozens of republics without sweat.

Re: Trump administration approves tougher visa vetting, including social media check

#39

Post by nikdaheratik »

moonshinefe wrote: post #32
andymcsherry wrote: post #19

This appears not to apply to all applicants. From here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/04/2017-08... > Respondents: Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities.

Gee look, media leaving out key information in order to get a rise out of people and more clicks. This in a nutshell is why I try to avoid following US politics these days (I guess my bad for clicking on it this time heh). Very interesting how Reuters doesn't mention this only affects 0.5% of people who apply and whose regular information is deemed to warrant further investigation. Doesn't sound as sensationalistic w…

The story covered the key point, which is that the way visas are granted has been changed to be even more arbitrary and have higher potential for abuse than before.

From everything I've seen so far, the only people who are going to get the "additional scrutiny" are Muslims, starting with the ones from the countries listed in the travel ban. The administration added the "national security" language in order to protect themselves in court, but it reads the same as any other instance of government abuse throughout American history. The people in the group being targeted will be required to jump over increasingly higher hurdles (like 15 years of biographical history) while everyone else gets to just step around it.

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