On December 10, 2025, the Trump Administration announced a new plan to heighten the screening requirements for temporary visitors from visa-waiver countries as part of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Under the proposal, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would for the first time require visitors from close partner countries that participate in ESTA to provide social media data and other personally identifying information to the government.
This announcement raises questions about the scope of these new requirements and how the government will implement them in practice. The proposed requirements will likely negatively impact the aviation and tourism industries, as their customers disproportionately rely on ESTA status, and companies in these industries often shepherd individuals through the ESTA process. The US Travel Association—a national nonprofit organization representing the travel industry—said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” by the announcement, which “could have a chilling effect on travel to the United States.” Companies in the travel industry and those with foreign visitors or employees are the most likely to be impacted.
Under the current ESTA program, citizens or nationals from countries in the State Department’s Visa Waiver Program use ESTA to travel to the United States for tourism or business stays of up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. The list of ESTA eligible countries is below.* ESTA approvals must be renewed every two years.
Under the proposal, the government would require ESTA applicants to provide their “social media” from the last five years. Applicants would also have to provide additional information “when feasible,” including email addresses used in the past 10 years; telephone numbers used in the past five years; IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos; and biometrics, including facial, fingerprint, DNA and iris data. CBP explained that the requirement to scrutinize social media information was necessary to comply with Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States form Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”
CBP’s changes mark a significant shift from current ESTA application procedures. While such information is traditionally required for B1/B2 visa applications for tourism and business travel from non-ESTA countries, applicants from ESTA-eligible countries have benefited from a far simpler application process. CBP indicates its proposal is designed to comply with an executive order issued earlier this year. Through Executive Order 14161, President Trump directed federal agencies to review and tighten vetting procedures for individuals entering the United States.
CBP’s announcement raises questions regarding how its plans will be implemented, including:
- what standards will CBP use to evaluate social media and other communications;
- whether applicants will be required to merely provide social media handles or whether the intent is for them to furnish copies of the actual content posted on social media using those handles;
- whether current ESTA holders will be affected by the proposal immediately upon its taking effect or whether it will apply only upon renewal;
- how ESTA applicants will need to disclose defunct or inactive social media accounts or accounts that have restrictive privacy settings; and
- what the effect might be for consideration of an ESTA application of deleting old social media posts associated with accounts that fall within the scope of the new proposal.
In commenting on the uncertainty around the proposal, the US Travel Association stated that “without more detail from CBP, there are legitimate questions from travelers about what information they might need to provide, and from security experts as to whether this policy would meaningfully increase America’s security.”
The public may submit comments on the proposed changes by February 9, 2026, which CBP will summarize and include in its request for final approval. These comments offer an opportunity to shape the policy that CBP ultimately enforces.
CBP also plans to decommission the website-based ESTA application, so ESTA applicants would submit this information solely through the ESTA Mobile application. In the proposal, CBP indicated that “moving to a mobile-only approach for ESTA submissions will both enhance security and improve efficiency.” These enhancements reference the Mobile Application’s superior passport and identity verification methods. CBP contends that poor quality image uploads to the ESTA website have resulted in applicants bypassing the facial comparison screening. The change is also a response to fraudulent third-party websites that “charge travelers exorbitant fees to process an application,” many of which may never be processed. This change will create more of a regulatory burden on employers or others who apply for ESTA visas on behalf of eligible applicants.
CBP’s enhanced traveler vetting proposal comes as the State Department prepares to expand social media screening of H-1B applicants and their dependents. The State Department recently announced that, as of December 15, all H-1B applicants and their dependents—in addition to students and exchange visitors already subject to this review—will undergo an online presence review. To facilitate this vetting, the Department indicated that H-1B, H-4, F, M and J applicants will be instructed to set the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public.”
We will continue to monitor the developments and are available to clients to discuss them at any point.
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Chile
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
Associate Preston Marquis provided invaluable assistance to this alert.
