December 10, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Foreign nationals who are currently allowed to enter the United States without a visa may soon be required to provide extensive personal information—including social media accounts, email addresses, and detailed family history—to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel.
A notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register states that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is proposing to collect five years of social media data from travelers who use the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of more than 40 mostly European and Asian countries to visit the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa.
These travelers apply through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which screens and approves them automatically, without requiring an in-person interview.
Under the proposed changes, CBP would also request additional details—such as all phone numbers used in the past five years, email addresses used in the past ten years, metadata from electronically submitted photos, and extensive family information, including relatives’ birthplaces and phone numbers.
Currently, ESTA applicants only have to provide limited information like their parents’ names and a current email address.
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal before it can take effect. CBP has not commented on the new rules, nor explained what specific information it seeks from social media accounts.
The agency said the proposal complies with a January executive order signed by President Donald Trump that calls for heightened screening of travelers to prevent potential national security threats.
Travelers from non-Visa Waiver countries already must provide social media information—a policy first introduced during Trump’s earlier term and continued under President Joe Biden—but Visa Waiver travelers have not been required to do so until now.
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