The United States is weighing a serious change to the way it screens people entering the country, by planning to implement necessary social-media checks for each vacationer. Under a proposal from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), all overseas guests, together with those that don’t want a visa, would have to present their social media handles from the previous 5 years earlier than being allowed in.
This marks a major shift from earlier proposals. Back in 2018, when the US first floated the concept of gathering social media particulars from visa candidates, vacationers from visa-waiver international locations like the UK, Canada, and Australia, have been explicitly exempt. That earlier draft was aimed primarily at customary visa candidates and didn’t contact ESTA visitors.
The 2025 proposal is way broader. It makes no exception for visa-free vacationers and would apply to anybody getting into the US. Visitors would want to present social media usernames, electronic mail addresses, and cellphone numbers utilized in the previous 5 years, together with the names, birthdays, and call particulars of fast relations.
Right now, residents of many international locations (together with the UK) can enter the US visa-free for up to 90 days by making use of for an ESTA, which prices $40. That course of already asks for fundamental contact particulars. But beneath the new plan, CBP needs ESTA candidates to submit much more, together with social media usernames, electronic mail addresses and cellphone numbers used over the final 5 years, plus names and birthdays of fast relations.
If carried out, the mandate would apply to everybody visiting the US, no matter whether or not they require a visa. The proposal is now open for a 60-day public remark interval.
The transfer comes after years of rising digital vetting in US immigration coverage. In June 2025, the US launched strict new guidelines for student and exchange-visitor visas, requiring candidates to make their social media accounts public and listing each username they’ve utilized in the final 5 years. Consular officers have been instructed to scan posts, likes and affiliations for something that would elevate “security” or “inadmissibility” considerations, from extremist content material to politically charged materials that may be interpreted as hostile to the US.
Now, the similar stage of scrutiny might prolong far past college students. Tourists, enterprise vacationers, and even guests from visa-waiver international locations may quickly discover their online lives open to inspection before they fly.
For now, nothing is last, however the route is evident. The US needs deeper visibility into the digital footprints of anybody getting into its borders. Whether that turns into customary observe for all vacationers will depend upon how this proposal strikes ahead after public evaluate.
This story was initially revealed on Condé Nast Traveller India.