DHS proposes sweeping new rules requiring social media, biometrics, and expanded personal data from millions of travelers under the Visa Waiver Program.
United States is moving to require five years of social media history from travelers seeking entry under its visa-free program, as part of a sweeping set of proposed security updates released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The plan, detailed in a new public notice ahead of its publication in the Federal Register, would significantly expand what applicants must disclose through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which administers the program, said the changes are designed to strengthen identity verification and detect foreign security threats.
Under the proposal, travelers would be required—not merely encouraged—to list all social media accounts used in the previous five years. CBP said this shift is intended to comply with Executive Order 14161, signed in January 2025, which directs federal agencies to intensify screening measures and modernize vetting tools across the immigration system.
Until now, ESTA applicants could choose whether to provide social media identifiers. The proposed rules would make the disclosure compulsory. “The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years,” the notice states.
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But the update goes far beyond social media screening. CBP is seeking authorization to collect a wide range of additional personal information, including: — Email addresses used in the past 10 years, telephone numbers from the last five years, IP addresses and metadata associated with submitted photographs, expanded family information, multiple biometric markers such as facial images, fingerprints, iris scans, and DNA.
Officials say the added data points are intended to align with updated federal biographic and biometric standards issued in April, creating a more comprehensive identity-verification system for foreign nationals entering the country.
Another major shift would require all ESTA applications to be filed exclusively through a mobile app, with DHS planning to shut down the existing web-based portal. The Visa Waiver Program, which includes 40 countries, processes more than 14 million ESTA applications each year.
The expanded requirements are expected to increase the time and effort needed to complete the application, according to DHS estimates included in the notice.
The department is requesting public comments for 60 days from the date of the proposal’s publication. If finalized, the rules would represent one of the most extensive expansions of digital-identity and social-media vetting in U.S. immigration policy.