Mullin's nomination to lead DHS raises the question: will entry into the US become even more demanding for foreign travelers?
The nomination of Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullin for the new Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States opens a much broader story than a mere personnel change in Washington. It is a department that oversees borders, customs, part of the visa and immigration system, transportation security, disaster response, and a large part of the operational infrastructure that determines who can enter the country and under what conditions. That is why every change at the top of the Department of Homeland Security, known as DHS, very quickly spills over to millions of travelers, students, business people, and tourists around the world.
According to the White House announcement of March 9, 2026, President Donald Trump formally sent Mullin's nomination to the Senate. As early as March 19, the Senate committee responsible for homeland security pushed his candidacy by a narrow majority toward a vote in the full chamber. This confirmed that this is not media speculation, but a real change that could come very soon, at a time when the United States is preparing for a huge influx of foreign guests due to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The travel industry, airlines, and organizers of major events have already been warning for months that the US, if it wants to leave the impression of an open and logistically ready host, will have to speed up part of its visa and border procedures. But the available official documents and the administration's political direction so far point to a different picture: faster passage for some travelers could go hand in hand with deeper checks, greater reliance on biometrics, enhanced review of digital footprints, and stricter assessment of admissibility for entry.
What it means that DHS itself manages the key points of entry into the country
DHS is not just a political symbol of a tougher approach to migration. Through agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, known as CBP, and the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, that department practically manages the experience of entering the country. At the border, at the airport, or during secondary inspection, that is where the most important operational decisions for foreigners are made: whether someone will be admitted, additionally questioned, detained, or sent back.
For international travelers, this matters because a stricter political line at DHS does not necessarily mean only more rejected applications. It often also means more uncertainty, more discretionary decision-making at the border, and a greater number of situations in which a formally correct document is not enough for entry to proceed without problems. The American visa system otherwise also works on the principle that a visa in itself is not a guarantee of entry, but permission for a traveler to request entry, while the final word belongs to border authorities.
Within that framework, Mullin's expected policy should not be read as a promise of easier travel, but rather as a continuation of the security logic according to which the movement of people can be accelerated only where the state assesses that the risk is low and the vetting sufficiently deep. For the average traveler, that means a simple message: planning a trip to the US remains possible, but the system's tolerance for ambiguities, mistakes, and suspicious signals will probably not be greater.
The 2026 World Cup requires millions of arrivals, but not a relaxation of checks
The organizational pressure is further increased by the fact that the US will be one of the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Back in November 2025, FIFA announced that holders of tickets for matches in the US would be able to use FIFA PASS, a priority appointment scheduling system for visa interviews for the B1/B2 category. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time that priority appointments would help fans complete their interview on time and show that they meet the visa requirements, while then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem emphasized that visitors would be thoroughly vetted and that they are expected to leave the country on time after their visit.
That wording accurately describes the direction of current policy. On the one hand, Washington is aware that a collapse of consular timelines and excessively long waits for appointments would be a logistical and reputational problem ahead of the biggest sporting event on the North American continent. On the other hand, the White House and the security apparatus are not sending a message of liberalization, but a message of controlled opening: come, but under stricter supervision and with clearer supporting documentation.
In other words, a priority appointment is not the same as a milder criterion. It can help a traveler reach the interview sooner, but it does not remove the obligation to prove the purpose of the trip, financial credibility, ties to the home country, and proper security screening. This is especially important for readers from countries outside the US Visa Waiver Program, where it still remains necessary to go through the full consular procedure.
The digital footprint is becoming an integral part of risk assessment
One of the most noticeable trends in recent months is the further expansion of checks related to the online presence of applicants. The U.S. State Department announced that an online presence review is being conducted for all H-1B visa applicants and their dependent family members, in addition to the already covered F, M, and J categories for students and exchanges, and that candidates must set the privacy of their social media profiles to “public” so that the review can be carried out.
Although that announcement formally applies to certain visa categories, it is also important as a signal of the broader direction of American policy on screening foreigners. In practice, this means that the digital footprint is no longer a secondary detail, but part of the picture on the basis of which authorities assess a traveler's credibility. Public posts, inconsistencies between what a person states in an application and what they publicly display online, as well as content that security services interpret as risky, can become an additional reason for deeper scrutiny.
For international travelers, this also raises the broader question of privacy standards. While some critics warn of the danger of overly broad interpretations of someone's online behavior, the American authorities present such measures as a logical part of national security. In a political environment in which DHS is getting a leader inclined toward a tougher approach to the border, there is little reason to expect the importance of digital surveillance to decrease.
Biometrics and identification: faster processing lines, but with stronger data collection
Biometrics adds an additional layer to the story. At the end of 2025, DHS published a final rule advancing the biometric entry and exit program, explaining that this strengthens national security while at the same time simplifying the verification of the identity of foreign visitors. In the official communication of the American authorities, it is precisely this combination that is constantly repeated: security and facilitation of the process are not presented as opposites, but as two goals achieved with the same technological tools.
But for a traveler, that has an ambiguous meaning. On the one hand, biometric systems can speed up part of the controls at airports and reduce administrative friction. On the other hand, they increase the amount of personal data the state uses in assessing identity, movement, and compliance with stay rules. Such a development is especially important ahead of major international events, because governments then often seek to combine system throughput with very low tolerance for security failures.
If Mullin takes over DHS, it is difficult to expect a departure from that model. Politically and operationally, a continuation of investments in technologies that enable simultaneously faster processing and stricter oversight is much more likely. This means that international travelers will not necessarily face a visible closing of the door, but entry into the US will probably increasingly resemble a process in which risk assessment takes place in multiple layers, from application and interview to the border itself.
Restrictions toward certain countries show that the barrier to entry has already been raised
Official announcements by the American State Department show that the administration has already raised the level of obstacles for a large number of foreign nationals. According to guidelines that entered into force on January 1, 2026, based on Presidential Proclamation 10998, the US introduced a full or partial suspension of entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries and for persons traveling with Palestinian Authority documents. For 19 countries, the suspension is complete across a wide range of immigrant and nonimmigrant categories, while for another 19 it is partial and covers, among other things, B-1/B-2 visitor visas and some student and exchange categories.
A legal nuance is also important: persons covered by that proclamation can still apply and schedule an interview, but that does not mean they meet the requirements for visa issuance or for entry into the US. In other words, the administrative path formally remains open, but the material chances of success can be significantly reduced. This is not a symbolic change, but a clear indicator that American entry policy has already become more restrictive even before Mullin's possible assumption of office.
For the travel industry, such a regime means constant tension between commercial and security goals. Airports, hotels, event organizers, and local communities want greater international traffic. The security apparatus starts from the premise that greater traffic must not lead to lowered standards. In that gap, the future head of DHS has great power: he can speed up processes, but also determine how high the threshold for entry will remain.
Where the expectations of the tourism sector break down
In the tourism and business sector, there is hope that the US, as the start of the World Cup approaches, will increase capacities and relieve some of the bottlenecks in traveler processing. Such expectations are not unfounded. On its official pages, the State Department emphasizes that it regularly opens new interview appointments and that waiting-time data are updated monthly. At the same time, it warns that the average waiting time and the first available appointment are not the same, because new slots are regularly released and some travelers later manage to move their appointment to an earlier date.
However, even that technical effort does not automatically mean easier travel. On the contrary, the available official materials show that Washington is working in parallel on two tracks: increasing organizational readiness for major events, while at the same time maintaining a strong emphasis on verifying identity, purpose of travel, and security admissibility. That is the logic according to which traffic can be accelerated only with even more precise filtering.
That is why it is more realistic to expect selective improvement in the user experience than a general easing of criteria. Travelers with orderly documentation, a clear itinerary, and a convincing reason for arrival may find the logistical part of the process easier. Those with unclear answers, weak evidence of ties to their home country, a problematic digital footprint, or passports from countries under special regimes could face even greater obstacles.
Mullin's political profile and the message his appointment sends
Mullin himself is not a profile in American politics that would be associated with liberalization of the border regime. He is a close Trump ally who has publicly supported stricter measures against illegal migration and the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico. During the Senate hearing, his nomination caused controversy, partly because of temperament and earlier controversies, but the political core of the debate was not in doubt: this is a candidate coming from the wing of the Republican Party favorable to tough security and migration policy.
That does not mean that under his leadership all aspects of the system would automatically become more restrictive in the same way. DHS, namely, is not only a migration ministry, but also an institution that must guarantee the functionality of airports, ports of entry, crisis management, and preparation for mass events. Because of that, it is possible that operational efficiency will be strengthened, infrastructure modernized, and certain flows of travelers accelerated. But the political message of his appointment remains clear: the emphasis will be on control, deterring abuses, and demonstrating firm state authority at the border.
That is precisely why the initial thesis that Mullin could bring easier travel is difficult to sustain. Everything publicly known about the direction of the administration points toward a model in which the welcome is conditional, not unconditional; acceleration exists only where the state feels that control is complete.
What this specifically means for travelers who are only now planning a trip to the US
For travelers from Europe and other regions, the most important practical lesson is that travel to the US in 2026 requires more preparation than tourism campaigns suggest. A passport and a basic itinerary are no longer sufficient elements of planning. It is necessary to check in time whether the country of citizenship falls under a special regime, whether a visa or authorization is needed, how long consular waits are, whether there are special programs for major events such as FIFA PASS, and whether everything the traveler states in the application matches their publicly available digital profile.
It is equally important to understand the difference between an issued visa and the decision on entry. Even when a visa is approved, the border service upon entry into the country retains broad discretion. This means that an unclear reason for arrival, contradictory answers, or suspicion that a person might remain longer than permitted can trigger additional questions and detention. In a political climate that emphasizes screening and security, travelers should expect officers to ask more detailed questions and to require consistent answers.
For organizers of international travel, business meetings, and sports visits, the message is equally clear: planning needs to start earlier, and administrative risk needs to be built into the project timelines themselves. The 2026 World Cup will certainly bring a huge number of people to the US, but according to the currently available information it will not change the fundamental reflex of American policy – that entry must remain under heightened oversight even when the country wants to appear open and ready for the world.
Sources
- Associated Press – report that the Senate committee narrowly voted on March 19, 2026 to send Mullin's nomination for Secretary of Homeland Security to the full Senate (link)
- The White House – official announcement on nominations sent to the Senate on March 9, 2026, including Mark Wayne Mullin's nomination to lead DHS (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – announcement on the expanded review of online presence for H-1B and H-4 applicants and the already covered F, M, and J categories, with the requirement that social media profiles be public (link)
- FIFA / Inside FIFA – announcement on the FIFA PASS system of priority scheduling of visa interviews for holders of tickets for 2026 World Cup matches in the US, with statements by American officials about thorough vetting of visitors (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – guidelines on the suspension of visa issuance and restriction of entry for some foreign nationals based on Proclamation 10998, in force from January 1, 2026 (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – official information on global visa interview waiting times and explanation that appointments are regularly added and data are updated monthly (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – general information on B-1/B-2 visitor visas and the fact that a visa serves to request entry, while the decision is made upon entry into the country (link)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection – official announcement on the final rule advancing the biometric entry and exit program for the sake of security and verification of the identity of foreign visitors (link)
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