June 3, 2019 – The following summary is provided courtesy of Fragomen Worldwide:

The State Department now requires foreign nationals to disclose five years of social media and contact history when applying for a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa. New questions about social media use, prior email addresses and prior phone numbers were added late last week to State Department Forms DS-160 and DS-260, the online nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applications.

Applicants are now required to:

• Disclose the social media platforms they have used within the previous five years;
• Provide their username(s) for each platform, though passwords are not required and should not be provided; and
• In addition to their current email and phone number details, list additional email addresses and phone numbers used in the previous five years.

Consular officers may use social media information – including professional profiles and public personal information – during the visa adjudication process.  Profiles, postings and details that appear inconsistent with the purpose of a visa applicant’s trip, other information in the visa application, or past immigration benefits applications could result in additional security clearances and even visa refusals.