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Rabat – Foreign nationals who currently enter the US without visas may soon face significantly expanded screening requirements, including the disclosure of social media history, email accounts, and detailed family information.
This comes under a proposal published Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The notice in the Federal Register outlines a plan by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect five years of social media identifiers from travelers who use the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
The program allows citizens of around 40 mostly European and Asian countries to visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa, provided they obtain approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
Unlike visa applicants, VWP travelers are not required to attend in-person interviews at US embassies or consulates.
Under the proposal, CBP would also request a decade’s worth of email addresses, five years of telephone numbers, metadata from digitally submitted photographs, and extensive information on family members, including their birthplaces and contact details.
The data would be added to the ESTA application, which currently asks for more limited personal information.
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Asked whether the enhanced vetting could discourage tourism, US President Donald Trump said he had no concerns.
“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 before any changes can move forward. CBP emphasised that the proposal is not yet in effect.
“Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States. This is not a final rule; it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe,” the agency said, citing an executive order signed by Trump in January calling for enhanced screening to prevent the entry of potential national security threats.
Travelers from countries outside the Visa Waiver Program already must submit social media information, a policy first introduced by the first Trump administration and preserved under President Joe Biden. But citizens from visa-waiver countries have so far been exempt.
Applicants for visas are now required to set their social media accounts to public visibility, with refusal considered potential grounds for denial under State Department guidelines.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services has also begun assessing whether applicants for immigration benefits have “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist, or antisemitic views.
The expanded scrutiny has raised concerns among immigration and free-speech advocates, who warn that broad social media monitoring may target lawful expression, including criticism of government policy.
