Feb. 2, 2026:
The current administration has already enacted several measures that have negatively impacted international tourism to the U.S. One was increased visa fees for just about all international visitors. Another was increased fees for foreign visitors to national parks ($100 charge for international visitors on top of park fees and $250 national parks pass fee for foreign guests vs $80 for U.S. tourists). Now it is proposing another change: visitors from Visa Waiver Countries would have to submit 5 to 10 years of social media history, phone numbers, email addresses, biometric data, and detailed family background information in order to be allowed to enter the country. (A tour guide colleague in Utah said this is considerably more information than he had to provide when he was being vetted to work in China several years ago.)
Public comment is open through February 9. We have time to make our voices heard!
Please take a moment to send an email to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) voicing your concerns about these proposed changes. We’ve created some templates you can use to submit written comment. Please feel free to use and adapt them as necessary – personalized with your own experience is always best.
Written comments regarding this issue must include the OMB Control Number (1651-0111) in the subject line and the agency name (US Customs and Border Protection). Please submit written comments by email to: CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov (that’s CBP(underscore)PRA(at)cbp.dhs.gov). The deadline for public comments is February 9.
template for an organization or entity (crafted for APT but can be adapted)
template for an individual in Philadelphia tourism/hospitality (crafted for tour guide but can be adapted)
template for an individual in Philadelphia NOT in tourism/hospitality
template for an individual anywhere in the U.S.
Please ask for support from friends and family – feel free to share the templates widely! This is a flyer (png, pdf) you can post to social media or share with your communities.
Everyone is encouraged to share this information with their local, state, and federal elected officials as well.
Further information:
NPR article about the proposed changes
Info on Visa Waiver Program
Statement from the U.S. Travel Association with some good talking points
We express our deep gratitude to a few of our members who culled research data to provide statistics on the impact this measure will have on Philadelphia, to the Guide Association of New York City (GANYC) for spurring us on and providing templates, and to the Historic District Partners advocacy committee who organized the action steps for us.
International guests learned the meaning of ‘snow squall’ while on tour! (Jan. 2020)
