USA: Update on travel precautions if you are an Australian travelling to America

I wrote an article back in April warning of the increased scrutiny tourists are receiving at the USA border, particularly if they are LGBTIQ+, Students or Academics, or have a history of criticising the Trump administration. Some thought back in April that the increased scrutiny of tourists might be transitory, a bit like the TACO-stayed approach to tariffs.

It doesn’t look like that is the case. There seem to be regular reports in the press of the enhanced screening of tourists at the USA border, and that is generally, not specifically, to those arriving from specific countries.

Welcome to the USA!

Australian travellers heading stateside are discovering that the American dream can be closer to a nightmare. Your arrival now can begin with a customs officer, a few hours in a holding room, and some very pointed questions about your Instagram.

Want to Visit America?

Once upon a time, a valid passport and a return ticket were all you needed to pass through U.S. immigration legally. But in 2025, under a second Trump administration, that welcome mat is now a security checkpoint, a sniff of suspicion, and possibly a stint in a federal detention centre—yes, even if you’re just there to see Disneyland.

Take Nicolle Saroukos, a 25-year-old Sydneysider heading to see her husband in Hawaii. Instead of a tropical reunion, she got a cold cell, was photographed and fingerprinted, and found herself deported the next day with a red mark next to her name and no clear explanation.

Why? No one seems entirely sure—maybe it was because she packed Vegemite. (I’m not sure she did!)

Welcome to Detention, Tourists

Nicolle’s not alone. Students, tourists, academics—even retirees with a well-creased ESTA—are being caught in the net of increasingly aggressive U.S. border enforcement. The list of interrogated items now includes laptops, WhatsApp messages, Twitter likes (sorry—’X’ likes), and political posts dating back years.

One Australian PhD candidate, travelling for a conference in Boston, was turned back for allegedly failing to provide ‘sufficient academic credentials’ despite carrying a university invitation. “They wanted to see funding records and questioned whether I was being paid to work illegally,” she wasn’t.

Digital Strip Search

It’s important to understand that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) officers can demand access to your phone, laptop, or tablet—with or without suspicion. That includes asking for passcodes, browsing your photos, reading your messages, and even copying data for later review. Don’t get too hoitiy toity. Australian Border Force have the same powers, but just don’t exercise them as stridently as currently in the USA.

If you’re travelling to the U.S. with devices, here are some preparation tips

I know this makes you sound like some kind of spy when your intention is catching a few theatre shows in NYC or heading to LA to visit Disneyland. This list is culled from a bunch of Australian advice newspaper articles:

• Use a ‘travel device’: Leave your regular phone and laptop at home. Bring a clean device with only the essential apps and information you need.
• Backup and wipe: Back everything up to the cloud before you go. Then delete sensitive or personal files before you fly.
• Sign out of social media: Better yet, uninstall apps that could raise eyebrows—especially if you’ve ever been politically active online.
• Enable encryption: Make sure full-disk encryption is enabled on laptops and phones.

If challenged to provide passwords, or access to your devices, then just like when faced with The Borg, ‘resistance is futile‘. Remember the USCBP have the right under US law to access and search your devices. While you can refuse to unlock your device, it could result in denial of entry and, yes, more time in that fluorescent-lit interview room.

Academic Freedom Comes With a Baggage Search

Universities are reporting a rise in student visa delays and academic rejections. Some Aussie researchers are being advised to delay travel or explore friendlier options—Europe, Canada, and even the UAE are looking more appealing than LAX right now.

The once-strong research pipeline between Australia and the U.S. is under stress. Private University independence and access to international students is under threat. And postgraduate students? Many are being asked to prove their financial backing, accommodation details, and study intentions in microscopic detail—even after visa approval.

Fewer Tourists, more travel trauma

Australian arrivals in the U.S. dropped nearly 8% in March 2025—the steepest fall since COVID. Add in expensive airfares, a strong U.S. dollar, and political weirdness, and it’s no surprise Australians are heading to Japan or Fiji instead.

LGBTQ+ travellers are especially wary, with many cancelling plans to attend the 2025 World Pride in Washington D.C. Equality Australia has warned of increased scrutiny and discrimination under current policies.

Should you still go?

Look, if you’re determined to go, go prepared:

• Bring every document you can think of—bookings, bank statements, university letters.
• Clean your devices, your social media, and your camera roll.
• Prepare your answers. No one likes a sweaty stumble over “just visiting a friend.”

But if you’re not emotionally prepared to defend your phone’s meme folder to a border agent, maybe skip the States this year.

2PAXfly Travel

The American welcome mat reads less “land of the free” and more “what’s your password?” At the moment, anyway. It could change again, as quickly as it has in the last 4 months since the inauguration.

I had hoped to return to the USA this year or next. I did miss a visit to Seattle due to COVID-19 in 2024. That is not on the cards now. Partly because of the current expense of travel, and just the day-to-day living costs for a tourist. It would take a lot to get me to the border at the moment. I would worry, probably without foundation, that I might not be admitted. I don’t want that stain on my passport. It would affect all my other travels.