Fwd: No visit to the US from us
Kittrell Rushing
Begin forwarded message:
From: Suzanne Liljegren <suz...@slliljegren.se>
Date: January 18, 2026 at 8:36:25 AM EST
To: Kit Rushing <kitru...@mac.com>
Cc: Lars Liljegren <larsli...@telia.com>
Subject: No visit to the US from us
Hi Kit and Frances,
This week we received information about the proposed changes in the visa waiver program stating that the deadline for the public consultation will be on February 9. It confirms the earlier information we have that implementing the new program can be done anytime from February 10. The changes make it mandatory for tourists (such as us) to provide the US government with all our social media data and email data five years back to be permitted to the US as tourists. This changes everything when it comes to our travel plans.
The US, as we have come to know and love, is not the US of today. We have now decided that we don’t want to expose ourselves to the risks – economic as well as personal safety risks - associated with the changed visa waiver program, in combination with the random apprehensions of ICE. Neither do we want to provide tons of private data from our emails and social media to the US government.
We are very sorry, Kit and Frances, that we can’t make good on our plans to come and see you. It would have been lovely to meet you again! Maybe there will be a time in the future when a new administration will bring back the “old” US of hope, compassion, dreams, and openness to the world. A time when we as tourists once again can feel welcomed and our plans for a visit can be realized.
Lots of love,
Suzanne and Lars
Margo Macdonald
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Christina Winter
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