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.
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