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State Department Instructs Embassies To Beef Up Screening For Visa Applicants

The directions, in four memorandums sent last week, require social media checks on certain applicants and instruct consular officials to identify "populations warranting increased scrutiny."
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 18: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) arrrive for a joint press conference at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 18, 2017 in Beijing, China. Tillerson is on his first visit to Asia as Secretary of State. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Pool/Getty Images)

In a series of memorandums sent to U.S. embassies, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has offered a glimpse of what President Trump's promised "extreme vetting" will mean for visa applicants when put into practice.

The strengthened screening procedures instruct consular officials to develop criteria for identifying "populations warranting increased scrutiny," according to a obtained . The cable does not offer further definition for the "population sets" it refers to in its instructions.

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