Overview
- CBP’s Federal Register notice would extend new data requirements to citizens of the 42 countries in the Visa Waiver Program.
- Applicants would be required to submit up to five years of social media history plus 10 years of email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, and contact details and addresses for immediate family members.
- The proposal also contemplates collecting biometrics, including facial recognition and applicant selfies, and allowing scrutiny of metadata from electronically submitted photos.
- The notice outlines a shift of ESTA to a mobile-only platform, replacing the current web application system.
- Officials frame the plan as threat screening, while legal experts note undefined standards for harmful online activity and point to broader tightening that includes about 85,000 visa revocations since January.