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U.S. seeks to require social media from last 5 years for ESTA applications

Published: 11 Dec. 2025, 08:25 Updated: 11 Dec. 2025, 11:45

People line up in front of the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul on Dec. 5 as they wait to obtain U.S. visas. [YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to require applicants for the ESTA visa waiver program to provide social media information from the last five years, a notice showed Wednesday, in a move to tighten screening for foreigners' entry into the United States. ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted the notice in the Federal Register to obtain public comments for 60 days regarding the proposal to collect social media data, and request other pieces of additional information, such as applicants' biometrics, including DNA and iris scans.

The change would apply to travelers from more than 40 countries participating in the visa waiver program, including Korea, Britain, Japan, France and Australia.

The proposal calls for adding social media as a "mandatory" data element for an ESTA application.

Under it, CBP also seeks to add several "high-value data fields" to the ESTA application, "when feasible," according to the notice.

Those fields include personal and business phone numbers used in the last five years; personal and business email addresses used in the last 10 years; and family members' names, their dates of birth, places of birth and residences, and their phone numbers used in the last 5 years.

CBP can also request biometric information, such as applicants' fingerprints, DNA and iris scans.

Until now, ESTA applicants have only been asked to provide basic information such as email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and emergency contacts.

CBP will decommission the ESTA website application process to establish the ESTA mobile application as the sole platform to apply for a new ESTA, the notice said.

Comments on the proposal should be submitted no later than Feb. 9. After the public comment period, the Trump administration is expected to implement it.

Under the ESTA program, citizens of eligible countries are allowed to visit the United States for up to 90 days for tourism or other purposes.

Since returning to office, President Trump has resumed his hardline immigration stance, tightening regulations for those entering the United States. He previously mandated social media history submissions for H-1B visa applicants and introduced a $250 “visa integrity fee” for visitors, except for those from visa waiver countries. In late September, the ESTA application fee was also sharply increased from $21 to $40.

According to the New York Times, if the plan is finalized, CBP is expected to implement the changes gradually over the coming weeks or months. U.S. immigration law firm Fragomen told the Times that wait times for U.S. travel authorization could increase significantly, especially with the World Cup scheduled for next year, and that the screening process could become much more complicated.

BY KANG TAE-HWA, YONHAP [[email protected]]