Foreigners allowed to travel to US without Visa may face social media screening

Foreigners traveling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) may soon be required to provide detailed information about their social media accounts, email history, and extensive family details before being approved for travel.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice Wednesday in the Federal Register outlining the proposed changes. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to collect five years’ worth of social media data, telephone numbers from the past five years, email addresses from the past decade, metadata from electronically submitted photos, and detailed family information, including places of birth and phone numbers.

Currently, travelers from roughly 40 countries , mostly in Europe and Asia, can enter the US for tourism or business for up to three months without a visa by applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). These countries include Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom . India is not part of the VWP , and Indian citizens still require a visa to enter the United States.

Unlike visa applicants, VWP travelers currently do not need to attend an embassy or consulate interview, and the ESTA process is generally quick. The new rules, if implemented, would mark a significant expansion of the personal data collected before travel.

Asked whether the measure might affect tourism, President Donald Trump said no. “We want safety, we want security, we want to make sure we're not letting the wrong people come into our country,” he said.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes. The DHS notice did not specify what exactly will be reviewed in social media accounts or the reasons for requesting additional information. However, the agency said the changes comply with an executive order signed by Trump in January, calling for heightened screening of travelers to prevent potential national security threats.

Officials say the expanded social media checks are intended to identify potential security threats, including terrorists or extremists, verify personal information provided in applications, track patterns or networks that might indicate risk, and prevent identity or document fraud. However, critics warn that the policy could be overly broad and invasive, potentially targeting individuals for expressing opinions critical of the U.S. government, raising concerns about privacy and free speech.

Since January, the Trump administration has already tightened visa rules, including requiring applicants to make their social media accounts public. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now reviews whether applicants for benefits, such as green cards, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist, or antisemitic views. The proposed expansion to Visa Waiver Program travelers would bring similar scrutiny to millions who previously faced far fewer checks.