Proposed US immigration changes

[reluctantbrit]

In case you still plan to visit the US, if this will be reality there is no way I am going near any US border.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/10/tourists-social-media-trump

So what has changed that’s prompted fresh headlines?

I wondered this last night when I was hearing about it.

I wonder how they'd react to no social media - would people be believed or would you be stuck at the border trying to prove a negative - or getting into arguments about what meant by social media.

Plus Australis just brought in ban on social media for under 16 - does that mean Australians can't visit US till they are 21 with 5 years of usage - would the staff have training to know another countries restictions - apparently Georgian passports can cause issues as the staff at airports are so poorly trained and lack general knowlege in US.

So many questions - and like so many Trump policies not many answers - I think there are still questions about visa integrity fees.

On the bright side, I'll get to bore one of their ignorant ill-mannered border officials to death, rather than the other way round. 😁

I'm a parish counsellor so social media in my real name is all about local planning disputes, broken street lights, stiles that need repairing and dog fouling. They can read all they like!!.

I like that...but I read somewhere that they use some software to scour the accounts for certain names, expressions etc etc. So that would ruin our fun...

It’s an optional field at the moment. I have done several estas over the last few years for me and kids and just left it blank.

the proposal is to make those fields mandatory.

My mum had hers checked when she went in April thankfully I had told her to delete any references in advance - it was after a news article about someone being detained and refused entry.

I'm certainly not going to be spending any money to go there.

I don't see how it's workable but anything is possible with DT in charge. It really sucks. My partner is American so I am over there a bit. I really have no option to not go and I love going anyway. Fortunately my social media policy has always been on a 'keep it light' policy. No political or controversial stuff. Just my nights out, kids, cats etc.

I am applying for Global Entry soon. I wonder if they will look at SM as part of my background check. I suppose they will.

Didn't they make a black mirror along these lines?

It’s a fairly common trope in dystopian fiction.

And theatre.

And films.

And radio plays.

Which is why it’s all so horrifying.

Tell me more about global entry please 🙏

dc is on an F1 visa and with current situation we’re being very careful about which airport they fly into, documents etc. would global entry make this any easier? For example cheapest flights connect via cities like JFK, LA, Chicago etc but the border control there can be brutal. So we’ve been booking via Dublin (long and complicated layovers) or Paris (direct to the university town as it’s “go team!” Instead of twenty questions on what do you want to go there for?). Costs a fortune though and limits choice.

we visit a fair amount on esta’s- would the £200 ish quid be worth it for us? So far Border control have been ok with us but again we make the choice to fly into more “relaxed” airports.

I’ve seen the global entry signs but not really registered until your post.

With AI to read everything you have ever done it’s quite feasible

I am mainly doing it for the TSA precheck. Security lines on my last trip were a nightmare. I've never had any issue at immigration. They just ask me why I am visiting and 'to see my boyfriend' has always sufficed.

I go Manchester - Dublin - Chicago and I should be able to get my interview upon landing at Chicago next time or the time after. I think these things take a while. Someone on reddit said you can say you have an application pending at Dublin and they might do it there and then for you at the American bit.

I haven't gone to any other airports there so far (LAX next year!) so have no idea what the others are like.

Loads of UK forms check sm accounts
Before we employ anyone we have a company check SM accounts
We have declined to offer jobs to 2 people whose accounts showed antisemitism

I think checking public facing accounts is sensible but 5 years of data and insiting all accounts are made public which BBC is reporting - so they can check seems excessive.

US is already only country facing a tourist slump this year - I can't see this helping. Of course they can insist on anything to cross their borders - it's their country but the will likely be consquences of yet more people not wanting to travel there and give 5 years of social media posts to a foreign government.

Not all US tourists sites are doing badly some have had more US visitor but then tend to spend less - if they want a smaller tourist industry that fine as well most international travelers and hoilday makers and even work conferences can find many other countires to visit.

I believe it's optional at the moment.

What are they going to do when the World cup starts .I hope it's a complete fiasco after that embarrassing display last week.

US'ians are going to be less and less welcome in' Europe' if this circus they voted in carries on .It is not funny any longer and the repercusions are only starting .
I have no desire to ever visit the US again and I used to live there.

How many more ways can this administration embarrass themselves?

This builds on both (1) the requirements and vetting procedures that are already in place for formal visa applications to the USA and (2) the optional questions already on the ESTA, so it's quite feasible and doesn't require new background routines. There's a comment period of 60 days before this goes into effect so it could be stopped, but it's also very possible it will go forward.

If you genuinely have no SM (never had, or all accounts deleted more than five years ago) you answer NONE. (Reddit is specifically included on the "including but not limited to" list of mandatory disclosure platforms, so presumably you should disclose Mumsnet too? ) If you do have accounts, you list each platform and all active handles on that platform. In addition to vetting any accounts listed, the AI checks for any undisclosed SM accounts, presumably using your name and the full set of email addresses and telephone numbers you've provided (you'll be required to submit EVERY ONE you've used in the past five years) and if they find no SM presence at all or if they find no undisclosed accounts and no "bad" content on the disclosed accounts, then presumably there's no issue. If everything doesn't check out, the system spits out your application for review by a carbon-based life form.

The requirement to make all social media accounts public is already an issue as some people - disproportionately women - have legitimate reasons to keep them private. If these policies were properly vetted, they would require applicants to grant access to all accounts to Homeland Security (or its designated agent) not to make them public.

Many people can and do avoid travel to the USA, but a lot of international flight itineraries pass through the USA and since there are no airside connections for international flights (for example, a flight from London Heathrow to Cancun with a change of plane at Miami Int'l) all passengers go through US immigration. If this is implemented and appears to be a perm change, I wonder if we will eventually see more flights from Europe to the Caribbean and Central and South America routing through Canada or Mexico instead?

I think you will find MAGA maniacs rarely if ever travel outside their state, let alone the country.

Remember how few Americans possess passports

Just boycott them. I have been and it's GREAT.

I will go to Portland after all this. wonderful protests!

But Facebook isn’t public, my Instagram is private too. I deleted Twitter when the latest own took over.

Facebook is a US company so being "private" will not mean what you think it does.

Without knowing the exact details, I can only speculate. However with a phone number, address and email address, they would just run them through Meta, X etc and see what accounts are linked to those initial accounts. From there simple chaining would pull out associated accounts.

That's before they deploy AI to read the content of accounts postings to see who they are connected to and so on.

Remember it only takes a few hops.(less than 10) and you can be "linked" with anyone on the planet.

@AspiringChatBot

"If this is implemented and appears to be a perm change, I wonder if we will eventually see more flights from Europe to the Caribbean and Central and South America routing through Canada or Mexico instead?"

There are plenty of flights already that route Europe to Mexico/Caribbean/South America non-stop or direct without touching US soil...I don't think this proposed change will increase flight numbers on those routes.

What the change might do is reduce the attractiveness of the cheaper deals you see advertised that often involve multiple sectors touching the US.

I can't imagine for a moment that they would have the resource in reality to trawl through several years' worth of social media posts for everyone who seeks to enter the US. In most cases, I don't suppose it will even get looked at.

With any luck, though, it will put people off from going to the US and that will hopefully have a significant negative impact on their economy.

Could you just deactivate your accounts before you go?