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Tag: US STATE DEPARTMENT

  • US could demand five-year social media history from tourists before allowing entry

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    Tourists from Europe and other regions could be asked to provide a five-year social media history before given entry to the United States, according to a new proposal from the US Customs and Border Protection service (CBP). The new rule would affect visitors from countries who normally enjoy relatively easy entry to the US via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

    The new proposal cites an executive order issued by President Trump from January titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” In his first year in office, Trump has been hyper-focused on strengthening US borders and reducing what he calls illegal immigration.

    The US state department will conduct “online presence” reviews for applicants and their dependents and require privacy settings on social media profiles to be made “public.” Applicants must list all the social media handles they’ve used over the last five years and if any information is omitted, it could lead to the denial of current and future visas. The CBP didn’t say what information they were looking for or what could be disqualifying.

    On top of the social media information, CBP may require applicant’s telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, along with information about family members.

    The new conditions are liable to increase ESTA wait times and drastically boost the cost of enforcing it. The CPB’s document suggests that an additional 5,598,115 man-hours would be required per year, or around 3,000 full-time jobs plus all the costs that entails. Right now, the ESTA application costs $40, allows people to visit the US for 90 days at a time and is valid for a two-year period.

    The mandatory social media reporting and other requirements could discourage travelers. Some Australian tourists who were coming to the US for the upcoming World Cup have now said that they’ve abandoned those plans, according to The Guardian, with one person calling the new rules “horrifying.”

    However, when asked if the proposal could lead to a tourism decline in the US, Trump said he wasn’t concerned. “No. We’re doing so well,” he told a reporter. “We want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come enter our country.”

    The CPB emphasized that the new conditions were only a proposal for now. “Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States [currently],” a spokesperson told the BBC. “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.”

    If implemented, the rule would affect people from 40 countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan. The largest number of tourists to the US come from Canada and Mexico, accounting for nearly half of the total — however, visitors with passports from those two countries don’t require a visa or ESTA approval. Travel to the US was down three percent this year compared to 2024 as of August 2025, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.

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    Steve Dent

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  • State Dept Revokes 6 Visas Over Charlie Kirk Posts

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    Following the state department’s review of their social media accounts, six foreigners have had their visas revoked for allegedly making light of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

    Charlie Kirk, a conservative figure, was killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University on behalf of his organization Turning Point USA. As President Trump was posthumously awarding Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the announcement of visa revocation was made by the State Department. 

    Kirk was revered by Trump as a “Great American Hero” and even a “martyr” for freedom. As such, the Trump administration has targeted people for comments about Kirk. Although these individuals are from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa, the names and types of visas these individuals had are yet to be revealed.

    Nhlamulo Baloyi, a South African national, has come forward to confirm that the State Department revoked his visa that was supposed to expire in 2032. This took place after uploading a post that said “Charlie Kirk won’t be remembered as a hero” and suggesting that his followers were a “movement of white nationalist trailer trash.”

    Baloyi says that “this goes against all the values that one has known about America”, contending that the revocation of his visa is a free speech violation. He mentions that he condemns political violence and that his post was simply intended to shed light on some of the double standards surrounding race.

    The State Department has commented in a post on X that “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans”. These actions, an effort to silence criticism of the passed political figure. 

    Many companies and institutions have fired, suspended, and otherwise disciplined people for making social media posts regarding Kirk’s death. David Axelrod, former advisor to Barack Obama, argues, posting on X, that “U.S. revokes visas for 6 foreigners for derisive posthumous comments about Charlie Kirk–who was ironically, a self-styled champion of free speech!”

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    Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they “will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws”. Other top officials, such as Vice President JD Vance, have encouraged people to call out any offensive language about Kirk they may find online.

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    Amaya Arnic

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  • US visa application in India: Over 1 lakh appointments confirmed for H1-B, L-1 visas

    US visa application in India: Over 1 lakh appointments confirmed for H1-B, L-1 visas

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    The US Embassy in India has released over 1,00,000 appointments for H&L visas for workers and their families bringing in a relief for those who have been waiting to see their families since the pandemic started. The L-1 and the H-1B visas are the two most popular non-immigrant work visas issued by the US.  

    On Friday the US Embassy in India tweeted: “In response to high demand for employment-based visas, the US Mission to India recently released over 100,000 appointments for H&L workers and their families. Thousands of applicants have already booked their appointments and the wait time for both interview waivers and first-time appointments has been cut in half throughout Mission India. This bulk appointment opening reflects our ongoing commitment to H&L workers.”  

    In another tweet added: “In fact, in the first nine months of 2022, the U.S. Mission to India had already processed over 160,000 H&L visas and we will continue to prioritise H&L workers for visa appointments as resources allow.” 

    Also read: Australia relaxes visa rules to address labour shortage, increases skilled workers quota

    L-1A and L-1B visas are available for temporary intracompany transferees who work in managerial positions at multinational companies. Whereas H1-B Visa is a multiple entry non-immigrant visa that allows foreign workers employed by US companies to work in the country. 

    External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on his recent visit to the US had highlighted the issue of visa delays with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken at that time had said the process will be addressed. 

    On 30 September, US Embassy Counselor Don Heflin said that there are people in the US on H and L visas who haven’t been able to come home and see their families since the pandemic started. He said: “…we sympathise with them a lot. We are going to, sometime in the next few weeks, open 100,000 appointments in the year 2023 for this category of visas. And for those of you who are interested in this and want a slot, just check our website every two or three days, every two or 3 hours during October.” 

    Earlier this month, the US Embassy in India opened the appointments for all categories of visas adding that the wait time would be high owing to high demand for the visas, reduced staffing, and pandemic-related disruptions in operations since March 2020.  

    But despite this relief to H&L visa holders, the wait time for first-time applicants for B1 (business) and B2 (visitor) visas are still 884 days in Delhi, 767 days in Kolkata, and 872 in Mumbai. This would mean that interested visitors can expect to get an appointment in January 2025 or even later. 

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  • COSI, NASA, U.S. Department of State Deliver STEM at the World Fair

    COSI, NASA, U.S. Department of State Deliver STEM at the World Fair

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    COSI, NASA and the U.S. State Department partnered to distribute NASA Learning Lunchbox STEM Kits to Help Showcase U.S. Innovation at the World Expo in Dubai

    Press Release
    –

    Mar 31, 2022


    COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 31, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    On the heels of being recognized for the third year in a row as the #1 science center in the United States by USA Today’s 10Best, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), in partnership with NASA and the U.S. State Department, have teamed up to deliver STEM at the World Fair to engage, inspire and transform lives and communities of underserved youth and families. 

    This year, the theme of the U.S.A. Pavilion at the World Expo 2020, also known as the World Fair, is “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Future.” As part of STEM leading us toward the future, Dr. Ryan Zeigler, Planetary Scientist and Lunar Sample Curator at NASA, delivered a talk about the NASA lunar and Mars meteorite samples currently on display at the U.S.A. Pavilion. After Dr. Zeigler concluded, COSI team members performed a science demonstration onstage and then distributed its NASA Learning Lunchbox kits, which were filled with five STEM activities and showcased the influence of U.S. innovation through STEM and the power of engagement through museums across the globe.

    COSI also met with United States Commissioner General Robert “Bob” Clark and department officials who were excited about COSI’s continued STEM engagement across the globe. 

    Other national museum organizations were featured inside the kits to showcase the importance of museums, such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), American Alliance of Museums, Association of Science and Technology Centers, Association of Midwest Museums and the Association of Children’s Museums. 

    “We are excited to partner with NASA and the U.S. Department of State to showcase American innovation and Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). We know science is everywhere and for everyone, and we are excited to share this message with the entire globe at the World Fair. We thank the U.S. Department of State and NASA for their leadership in supporting STEM education both nationally and throughout the world on this distinguished stage,” said Dr. Frederic Bertley, President & CEO, COSI. 

    To date, COSI has distributed more than 100,000 Learning Lunchbox kits to serve students, families and underserved youth. 

    # # #

    Media-only link: To download high-quality videos and photos of COSI for your stories, please click here. Please credit all assets, “Courtesy of COSI.”

    Press contact: 

    Kristy Williams, Director of Communications, COSI

    kwilliams@cosi.org, 317.518.6860 (cell)

    Source: COSI

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