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Applicants to supply social media details as criteria to getting US visa

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US civil society files suit to stop Trump's new asylum restrictions

Nearly all applicants for United States visas will now have to submit their social media details, under newly adopted procedures, BBC reports.

The US State Department will now require almost all applicants for US visas to submit their social media usernames, as well as all of their previous email addresses and phone numbers.

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According to reports, the change was proposed in March of 2018, and is expected to affect roughly 14.7 million immigrants who will apply for visas to enter the country every year.

Also, certain diplomatic and official visa applicants will be exempt from the new measures, but everyone looking to travel to the US for work or study will have to hand over their information.

The department also said that collecting this additional information from more applicants will strengthen the process for screening these applicants and confirming their identity.

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