US plans to review social media accounts of these groups of travelers: Full list of affected countries

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed new powers that would require travelers from more than 40 countries to disclose their social media history from the past five years when applying to enter the United States.

The proposal would apply to countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows eligible travelers to visit the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a traditional visa by applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, known as ESTA.

“To comply with Executive Order 14161 from January 2025, CBP has added social media as a required data field in the ESTA application,” the agency said in its proposal. “Applicants would be required to provide their social media history from the past five years.”

Which countries could be affected?

If approved, the requirement would apply to citizens of the following Visa Waiver Program countries: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom.

The CBP said it will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days. If finalized, the agency could roll out the changes in phases over several weeks or months.

Separately, the State Department announced that, starting December 15, it will expand its existing ‘online presence’ screening to include H-1B work visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, in addition to F, M, and J visa categories. As part of that process, applicants will be required to set their social media profiles to ‘public’ to allow for additional vetting.

The State Department said it uses all available information to identify applicants who may be inadmissible to the United States or pose national security or public safety risks, including expanded online and social media checks.

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