Travelling to the United States without a visa has been kind of an easy process for citizens of many countries for years. However, a new proposal announced by the U.S. government could drastically change what travelers must do before entering the country. So, if you want to know more about this, keep reading because you will find all the information right here.
What the United States is proposing
The government of the United States announced a new proposal to increase the amount of information required for travelers who don’t need a visa to enter the country. This proposal was announced by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to authorities, the main goal is to fight terrorism and strengthen national security.
The measure is part of an executive order signed in January of this year, called Executive Order 14161, to protect the United States from possible foreign threats.
ESTA and its importance
The ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is a form that must be completed by people travelling to the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program.
This system allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a traditional visa. Until now, ESTA required basic personal and travel information. The new proposal would significantly expand those requirements.
The new information to provide
If this proposal is approved, travellers entering the U.S. using the ESTA will have to provide more personal information, such as:
- Social media: travellers will have to provide a list with every username they have used on social media for the last five years. For your information, no passwords nor login credentials will be required, and CBP will only review information that is publicly available.
- Phone numbers and email addresses: apart from social media, travellers will be asked to provide phone numbers used in the last five years, and email addresses used in the last ten years.
- Family information: the proposal also includes the collection of more detailed family information, like birthplaces of family members and phone numbers of relatives.
Which countries would be affected by this measure?
This proposal would directly affect citizens from countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program and use ESTA to enter the United States. Currently, this program includes 42 countries, here’s the list:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Chile
- South Korea
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- United Kingdom
- Czech Republic
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
Is this measure already being applied?
This is currently a proposal, not a final rule. It has been published in the Federal Register, which is an official step in the rule-making process in the United States.
This proposal is an extension of investigative policies that were already introduced during President Trump’s first term. The current plan seeks to expand those policies by requesting more detailed personal information from travelers.
So…
For now, this is still a proposal, not a final rule. However, it signals a clear shift toward stricter screening for visa-free travelers. So, if you plan to visit the United States in the future, this is the kind of change that may shape how you prepare for your trip and what information you are asked to provide. Do you think this measure will be useful to make the United States safer? Will the country receive less tourists once this measure becomes a reality? We’ll see how everything goes in the future.