Want a US visa? Tell us your social media usernames

Travel documents: passport and airline tickets with calendar in the background. [File,Standard] 

Kenyans applying for the United States visa will now be required to disclose all social media usernames or handles used in the past five years.

According to the US Embassy in Nairobi, failure to provide this information could result in visa denial.

“Omitting social media information on your application could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future US applications,” the Embassy said on Friday.

“Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit,” it added.

The embassy’s decision comes just a month after the Donald Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s right to enroll foreign students, a move that could affect more than a quarter of its annual intake.

"Effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) Program certification is revoked," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a letter to the Ivy League institution, referring to the federal system that authorises foreign students to study in the United States.
A month earlier, President Trump had threatened to block Harvard from enrolling international students unless it agreed to government oversight that would subject the private university to external political supervision.
Harvard has since sued the Trump administration over the decision, challenging the move to block it from enrolling and hosting international students.