A new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection could force visitors from other countries to provide five years of their social media history before they’re allowed to enter the U.S.
That would impact visitors from dozens of friendly nations, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel and many countries in Europe, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Any country on the visa waiver program, which allows people from these countries to visit the U.S. for up to…
A new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection could force visitors from other countries to provide five years of their social media history before they’re allowed to enter the U.S.
That would impact visitors from dozens of friendly nations, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel and many countries in Europe, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Any country on the visa waiver program, which allows people from these countries to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa, would be impacted.
Applicants would also have to provide lists of telephone numbers used in the past five years, any email addresses used in the past decade, biometric information (including fingerprint, DNA, and iris data) and IP addresses from electronically submitted photos "when feasible" the proposal says.
The CPB is taking public comment on the idea for the next 60 days.
The proposal could impact not only conventional tourism to the U.S., but could have a chilling effect on business travel. It also would expose the political viewpoints of the visitors, which could impact their chances of entry if they don’t align with the Trump administration.
The government has shown a growing interest in people’s social media posts. Student visa applicants, since June, have been required to set their social media accounts to public by the State Department. People applying for H-1B visas will soon be required to do the same.
Visa applicants have been required to disclose social media accounts since 2019, a regulation Trump issued in his first administration.
The proposal comes as Washington continues to crack down on immigration, with a 1% tax on money that migrants send back to their home countries and raising the price of a H-1B visa to $100,000 (which experts warn will hurt the economy). At the same time, the mass deportations by ICE (and the cooperation of other agencies in doing so) of suspected illegal immigrants has already visitation to the U.S.
According to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), America is on track to lose $12.5 billion in travel revenue this year. That would make it the only country out of 184 analyzed that sees a 2025 tourism decline.