International travelers are adopting 'ghost booking', a practice of making hotel reservations they don't plan to use, to meet US immigration requirements amid rising border anxiety. Recent incidents have caused unease, even among low-risk visitors from the Visa Waiver Program. Border officers now exercise greater discretion and demand credible travel arrangements, resulting in travelers fearing denied entry. This has transformed confirmed accommodation bookings into an unofficial requirement, as the threat of intense questioning looms over those with vague itineraries. Ghost booking involves creating fully refundable reservations solely for presentation to border officials, which travelers cancel post-entry.
This heightened scrutiny reflects broader policy shifts, resulting in tougher enforcement. Travelers with loose itineraries often face intense questioning about where they'll sleep, how they'll fund their trip, and when they plan to leave.
Ghost booking happens when travelers make fully refundable hotel reservations or return flights with zero intention of keeping them, existing solely as paperwork to show border officials.
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