The United States has unveiled potential changes to its ESTA applications or Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
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ESTA applicants are able to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. Instead, they fill out their ESTA form prior to travel, which is usually approved in less than a week. Travelers from 42 countries are eligible to apply to ESTA, including most European nations (UK, Spain, Germany, etc).
The proposed change to immigration policies would have an effect on how ESTA applications are processed.
According to the US Customs and Border Protection, the update would require ‘ESTA applications to provide their social media from the last five years’, plus additional information related to application phone numbers and emails. Emails used over the last ten years would be required to complete the application.
For now, the proposed change is open to public commentary. It will be revisited in 60 days.
Deeper dive into proposed updates for ESTA applicants
Unsurprisingly, a potential push to vet tourists’ social media pages, email addresses, and phone numbers has sparked questions, confusion, and even outrage. The question is—should a person’s online presence be used to deny or approve tourist visas?
Some watchdog groups worry that providing this type of information damages civil liberties, especially those related to privacy. On the other hand, some organizations feel it is necessary in order to monitor national security.
On a more practical level, it’s going to create delays if implemented. ESTA applicants don’t typically wait long for approval or denial. But if Customs and Border Protection is reasonable for trawling social media pages and data tied to phone numbers and/or emails, that process could take much longer.
This year, applications for student visas and skilled work visas added a slot for social media handles. The goal is to weed out national security threats.
