Washington: A controversial social-media post from 2022 criticizing Washington could return to trouble travellers in 2026. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed a sweeping expansion of screening requirements for foreign nationals, seeking mandatory disclosure of up to five years of social-media activity for anyone entering the United States. The proposal, outlined in a Federal Register notice released on Wednesday, marks one of the most extensive attempts yet to integrate travellers’ digital footprints into US immigration and border-security protocols. The move adds to a growing list of digital and biometric checks that are already igniting fierce debate worldwide over privacy, national-security concerns, and the future of international mobility — particularly if other countries adopt retaliatory measures.

India is expected to face significant impact across business, student, and tourist travel categories. After Mexico, India remains the second-largest source of US visa applicants, with Indian nationals securing nearly 1.3 million non-immigrant visas in 2023, a figure that has touched historic highs in recent years. Under the proposed rules, all visa applicants — as well as travellers from visa-waiver nations — would need to list every social-media platform used in the past five years, alongside personal and business phone numbers, email addresses from the past decade, and identifying details of immediate family members. At present, citizens of 42 countries can travel to the US for up to 90 days without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program, provided they obtain electronic travel authorisation. The new rules, if implemented, would impose these expanded disclosure requirements on them as well, significantly reshaping global travel norms.