Travelers visiting the United States from countries like Britain, France, Germany and South Korea could soon have to undergo a review of up to five years of their social media history, according to a proposal filed on Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The change would affect visitors eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows people from 42 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they first obtain electronic travel authorization.
In a document filed on Tuesday in the Federal Register, C.B.P. said it plans to require applicants to provide a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children.
Under the current system, applicants from visa waiver countries must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. They pay $40 and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. The authorization is good for two years. Listing your social media has been optional on the application since 2016, Xiao Wang, co-founder and chief executive of Boundless, a visa- and immigration-assistance company, said in a statement.
Mr. Wang said that C.B.P. previously didn’t clarify how skipping the question affected applications. Now, he expects the government to increasingly view the absence of social media records as “a sign that the applicant is hiding something,” and that could have a negative impact on the application.
This move from C.B.P. follows similar actions by the U.S. government to conduct social media reviews for some visa applicants, including seekers of the H-1B visas awarded to skilled foreign workers, as well as applicants for student and scholar visas. It also follows the government’s pending plans to collect a new $250 visa integrity fee from many visitors, though visitors from visa waiver countries are exempt from that fee.
The travel industry has pushed back on the visa integrity fee. In November, a coalition of more than 20 tourism and travel businesses signed a letter of opposition, citing concerns that the fee would discourage millions of prospective international visitors to the United States, including those traveling to events like next year’s World Cup.
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