US asks social media profiles of 14 m Visa applicants |
The State Department announced March 30 that it will require visitors seeking a U.S. visa to submit their social media profiles, along with five years of past phone numbers and e-mail addresses.The proposal was entered into the Federal Register, and will be implemented after a 60-day public comment period, which ends May 29. Many of those submitting comments denounced the move as an invasion of privacy. The proposal would affect more than 14 million people, primarily those from India, Brazil, Mexico, and China. Citizens of 40 other countries do not require visas to enter the U.S., and thus would be exempt from the proposed rules.Indian American Anil Kalhan, an associate professor of law at Drexel University, took to social media to express his concerns about the proposal. “This is unnecessarily intrusive and beyond ridiculous, said Kalhan on Twitter. Infringes on right to privacy and freedom of expression/association. And to what rational end?It`s absurd. Like other immigration policies this admin has instituted in name of `security,` seems mostly intended to discourage people from immigrating to or visiting the U.S. altogether, said Kalhan, who serves as the international human rights chair for the New York City Bar Association.
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