US eyes 5-year social media disclosure for visa applicants - implications for creators and brands

The US Department of Homeland Security has opened a 60-day comment period on a proposal to require visa applicants to provide five years of social media history. First-time Israeli visitors would be among those affected, alongside other foreign nationals applying for US entry. The key takeaway here: while social media checks aren’t new in consular screening, DHS is moving to formalize and standardize the collection of social media identifiers across the board. This is a proposal, not a final rule, but it signals continued institutionalization of social handle disclosure in US travel vetting.

What this means for creators and agencies: build more lead time into US campaign logistics, event travel, and brand trips. Applicants may need to list all handles used over the past five years, so ensure rosters capture current and former usernames across platforms, plus any secondary or niche accounts tied to a creator’s identity. Expect public content to be reviewable once identifiers are provided; scrub-and-archive policies, consistent bios, and clear disclosures become brand safety tools as much as audience hygiene. Worth noting for brands: if you’re contracting international talent for US shoots, launches, or tentpoles (think SXSW, Fashion Week, CES), tighten onboarding paperwork to include social handle history and confirm that creators are comfortable with their public footprint being part of travel screening.

The bigger picture: compliance is becoming a standard part of cross-border creator operations. What’s actually changing is process, not platform algorithms-no need for dramatic content pivots, but do revisit governance. Train teams on collecting identifiers securely, tracking handle changes, and differentiating personal vs. brand-owned accounts. Keep an eye on the comment period and final rule text for scope and data handling details. Until then, the pragmatic move is simple: document, audit, and plan ahead.