Historical Context – ESTA and Social Media Handles
Generally, with the exception of Canadians (for now) a visa is required for non-citizens to enter the United States. Citizens of selected countries do NOT require a visa. These countries are referred to as “visa waiver” countries. The “visa waiver” program is described as follows:
Visa Waiver Program
Overview
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries* to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Travelers must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel and meet all requirements explained below. If you prefer to have a visa in your passport, you may still apply for a visitor (B) visa.
ESTA is an electronic travel application for individuals who are citizens of a “visa waiver” country. Although a visa is not required an electronic travel authorization is required. Information about ESTA and the online application is here.
Applicants are invited to provide information about their social media handles as part of the ESTA application. The government website includes:
How will CBP use my social media information collected through the additional question that was added to the ESTA application in December 2016?
Information found in social media will enhance the vetting process and may be used to review ESTA applications to validate legitimate travel, adjudicate VWP ineligibility waivers, and identify potential threats. If you choose to answer these questions and an initial vetting by CBP indicates possible information of concern or a need to further validate information, a highly trained CBP officer will have timely visibility of the publicly available information on those platforms, consistent with the privacy settings the applicant has chosen to adopt for those platforms, along with other information and tools CBP officers regularly use in the performance of their duties.
For example, social media may be used to support or corroborate a traveler’s application information, which will help facilitate legitimate travel by providing an additional means to adjudicate issues related to relevant questions about identity, occupation, previous travel, and other factors. It may also be used to identify potential deception or fraud. Social media may help distinguish individuals of additional concern from those individuals whose information substantiates their eligibility for travel.
DHS will handle social media identifiers in the same manner as other information collected through ESTA. DHS has documented these procedures in the updated ESTA System of Records Notice (SORN) and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), which are available on the DHS website (www.dhs.gov/privacy).
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/faq?lang=en&focusedTopic=Privacy%20and%20Security&answerToDisplay=How%20will%20CBP%20use%20my%20social%20media%20information%20collected%20through%20the%20additional%20question%20that%20was%20added%20to%20the%20ESTA%20application%20in%20December%202016%3F
Now, the U.S. government proposes to make the disclosure of social media handles a mandatory part of the application process for all immigration related processes.
How Did The “Social Media Handle” Requirement Come About? Background
USCIS is "seeking to access and review the social media accounts of any person applying for citizenship, residency or asylum in the U.S., in a move that they argue is necessary to comply with one of President Trump’s executive orders on immigration." https://t.co/WCRdEz05Lg
— AILA (@AILANational) March 6, 2025
Part A – Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats – January 20, 2025
Sec. 2 of the EO includes:
Enhanced Vetting and Screening Across Agencies.
(a) The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall promptly:
(i) identify all resources that may be used to ensure that all aliens seeking admission to the United States, or who are already in the United States, are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible;
(ii) determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the INA for one of its nationals, and to ascertain whether the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and that the individual is not a security or public-safety threat;
(iii) re-establish a uniform baseline for screening and vetting standards and procedures, consistent with the uniform baseline that existed on January 19, 2021, that will be used for any alien seeking a visa or immigration benefit of any kind; and
(iv) vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.
(b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, a report:
(i) identifying countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)); and
(ii) identifying how many nationals from those countries have entered or have been admitted into the United States on or since January 20,
2021, and any other information the Secretaries and Attorney General deem relevant to the actions or activities of such nationals since their admission or entry to the United States.
(c) Whenever information is identified that would support the exclusion or removal of any alien described in subsection 2(b), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take immediate steps to exclude or remove that alien unless she determines that doing so would inhibit a significant pending investigation or prosecution of the alien for a serious criminal offense or would be contrary to the national security interests of the United States.
(Notably the EO requires that “all” resources of assistance be identified. It does not specifically require Social Media handles.)
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Part B – The Response – Agency Information Collection Activities; New Collection: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Social Media Identifier(s) on Immigration Forms
Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” directs implementation of uniform vetting standards and necessitates the collection of all information necessary for a rigorous vetting and screening of all grounds of inadmissibility or bases for the denial of immigration-related benefits.
See90 FR 8451 (Jan. 20, 2025). Execution of the E.O. requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to collect social media identifier(s) data on immigration forms and/or within information collection systems. This data will be collected from certain populations of individuals on applications for immigration-related benefits and is necessary for the enhanced identity verification, vetting and national security screening, and inspection conducted by USCIS and required under the E.O.
This collection of information is necessary to comply with section 2 of the E.O. establishing enhanced screening and vetting standards and procedures enabling USCIS to assess an alien’s eligibility to receive an immigration-related benefit from USCIS. This data collection also is used to help validate an applicant’s identity and determine whether such grant of a benefit poses a security or public-safety threat to the United States.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/03/05/2025-03492/agency-information-collection-activities-new-collection-generic-clearance-for-the-collection-of
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Part C – Your Opportunity To Comment – Are Social Media Handles Really Necessary?
You may access the information collection instrument with instructions or additional information by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal site at:
and entering USCIS-2025-0003 in the search box. Comments must be submitted in English, or an English translation must be provided. All submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal information that you provide in any voluntary submission you make to DHS. DHS may withhold information provided in comments from public viewing that it determines may impact the privacy of an individual or is offensive. For additional information, please read the Privacy Act notice that is available via the link in the footer of
Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies should address one or more of the following four points:
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology,
e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
Comments can be made until May 5, 2025 and can be viewed here:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2025-0003-0001/comment
In Conclusion …
Governments around the world are becoming more and more intrusive. The danger is that Social Media handles become a requirement for different kinds of interaction with the government. Will tax administration be next?
Interestingly this new requirement is taking place contemporaneously with a new requirement that “aliens” spending more than 30 days in the United States be both registered and fingerprinted – as described here:
Canadian Snowbirds Now Subject To Form Crime For Failure To Register Their Stay In USA
John Richardson – Follow me on X.com @ExpatriationLaw