US Customs and Border Protection proposed stricter ESTA rules in December 2025 that would require Visa Waiver Program travelers from over 40 countries, including Germany, to disclose more personal details before boarding a flight to the United States.
The plan would expand what people must enter into the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, the online screening used by many visa-free visitors who travel for tourism or business for stays up to 90 days.
CBP has not put the proposal into effect, and no exact effective date is set for any final rule and implementation.
Monday’s close of the public comment period on February 9, 2026 sets up the next phase, in which the agency reviews submissions and can adjust the proposal before finalizing.
ESTA sits at the center of the Visa Waiver Program, the long-running arrangement that lets citizens of participating countries visit the US without first obtaining a visitor visa, so long as they meet program requirements and obtain authorization through ESTA.
Because the change would affect travelers before they even reach a US airport or land border, the proposal matters to airlines and passengers who rely on rapid, predictable pre-travel checks.
Rulemaking typically moves from an agency proposal to a public comment period, then internal review and possible revision, followed by publication of a final rule and a future effective date.
For travelers, that sequence usually means a proposal can signal what officials want to collect, but does not itself change what the ESTA application asks for until a final requirement takes effect.
CBP’s proposal would add data fields that reach into travelers’ personal contact histories and online identities, while also increasing the amount of family information applicants must provide.
One of the most notable additions involves social media identifiers, using a handle or account name concept.
Applicants would have to provide account names used over the past 5 years under the proposed ESTA rules.
CBP would not require access to accounts or posts, and the proposal says not all will be checked.
Alongside social media identifiers, the agency proposed collecting more contact details, with a focus on how travelers have been reachable over time.
The draft would require phone numbers from the past 5 years and email addresses from the past 10 years.
CBP framed part of that request with a “where possible” qualifier for contact details, language that can matter for travelers whose numbers or accounts changed often.
The proposal also would add detailed family information, including birth dates, places of residence, and birthplaces for family members.
Family data can serve as a cross-check during identity resolution and vetting, and can help authorities compare information across records for consistency.
If finalized, the expanded ESTA prompts would apply to Visa Waiver Program travelers using the system for visa-free visits for tourism or business.
CBP presented the changes as a tightening of entry checks, seeking more complete biographic and contact information from people who otherwise avoid the longer visitor-visa process.
The proposal ties into a broader shift toward enhanced vetting described as part of President Donald Trump’s stricter migration and security policies.
Those policies criticized prior lax entry rules and emphasized enhanced vetting, and the proposed ESTA changes align with that approach.
Even without a final effective date, the public comment closure on February 9, 2026 means the agency can now move toward a final decision, revise what it asked for, or set different terms before implementation.
Until CBP announces a final rule and an effective date, ESTA requirements remain as currently implemented.
Travelers who rely on the Visa Waiver Program often make plans months ahead, and any future change to the application can ripple into trip preparation timelines.
A longer or more demanding ESTA questionnaire can also increase the time needed to assemble accurate information, especially for travelers who maintained multiple email addresses or phone numbers.
Errors or inconsistencies can carry consequences at the border, where US Customs and Border Protection officers can question travelers about the information they submitted.
Families may face additional preparation burdens under the proposed family-information section, particularly when details cover multiple relatives and multiple places of residence.
The proposal’s design also raises privacy considerations for travelers who may view social media identifiers and long spans of contact history as more sensitive than traditional biographic data.
Air travelers could also encounter added friction during check-in if an authorization decision takes longer, though the proposal itself does not set out how processing times might change.
For the moment, CBP’s next steps center on reviewing what the public submitted during the comment period and deciding whether to modify the proposed data fields.
Announcements about rule changes typically appear through formal channels such as the Federal Register and CBP or ESTA updates, though the proposal has not yet reached the stage of an announced effective date.
While the ESTA proposal remains pending, other entry-related developments already set the tone for travel in early 2026 and differ from ESTA because they operate through different legal mechanisms.
A presidential proclamation, signed December 16, 2025 by President Trump and effective January 1, 2026, fully bans entry for nationals of 20 countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen.
The same proclamation also applies to those using Palestinian Authority documents.
It partially bans B-1/B-2/F/M/J visas for nationals of 18 other countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The proclamation also targets immigrant entry for Turkmenistan nationals.
CBP’s proposed ESTA data-collection changes would apply to Visa Waiver Program travelers using ESTA, while proclamations and entry restrictions can bar or limit entry for specific nationalities or categories regardless of how a traveler seeks to enter.
The proclamation lists exceptions that include US lawful permanent residents.
It also includes those already in the US with valid visas as of January 1, 2026.
Dual nationals traveling on non-designated passports also fall under the exceptions described, along with specific cases like athletes for major events.
Separately from visa or proclamation-based restrictions, the Biometric Entry/Exit System has become mandatory for all non-US citizens, including Canadians, by late December 2025.
That system uses facial biometrics at air, land, and sea ports.
“Mandatory” in practice can mean travelers should expect identity checks to include biometric capture and matching as part of the standard processing flow, and should be prepared for delays if issues arise during verification.
Other measures could affect travelers in 2026, though they differ from ESTA in both scope and mechanics.
One measure paused immigrant visas from January 21, 2026, for high public benefits risk nationalities.
Another involved stricter H-1B visa digital footprint screening, which applies to a work-visa category rather than the short-stay tourism and business travel that ESTA covers.
A separate travel-cost policy adds about ~$100 daily extra fees for international visitors to US National Parks.
These measures can appear to travelers at different points in the journey, from visa processing to airline boarding checks to the inspection booths at US airports and land borders.
A visitor arriving under the Visa Waiver Program may experience the combined effect of stricter screening expectations, a more data-heavy authorization process if ESTA changes take effect, and biometric capture at entry.
At the same time, travelers from countries affected by the proclamation may find that eligibility turns on nationality, visa category, and the stated exceptions, rather than on what information they can supply.
Tourism has declined in 2026, linked to these policies, higher costs, and prior rules.
CBP’s ESTA proposal sits within that larger environment, in which travelers weigh the convenience of the Visa Waiver Program against a trend toward more documentation and more checks.
If CBP finalizes the ESTA changes, travelers could face a longer application that requires more careful record-keeping.
Someone who has changed phones frequently would need to reconstruct phone numbers from the past 5 years, while many people may need to locate older email addresses reaching back 10 years.
Applicants could also need to verify social media account names used over the past 5 years, even if they no longer actively post.
People traveling as families could need time to collect accurate birth dates, birthplaces, and residences for family members to avoid inconsistencies in submissions.
Data mismatches can create screening questions, and travelers could face added scrutiny if identifiers or biographic details do not align with other records.
The proposal does not state that every social media identifier will be checked, and it does not ask for passwords or access to accounts or posts, but travelers would still need to provide account names under the plan.
In the near term, the most practical step for travelers is to watch for formal announcements that distinguish a proposal from a final rule.
CBP and ESTA updates can reflect changes in the application prompts, and Federal Register notices can mark the publication of any final rule and the effective date that makes requirements enforceable.
State Department travel advisories can also alert travelers to broader entry changes, though the ESTA proposal centers on CBP’s pre-travel authorization requirements.
For now, the confirmed timeline includes CBP’s December 2025 proposal and the end of public comments on February 9, 2026, with implementation still pending.
CBP’s push for more information reflects a policy rationale agencies often cite for expanded vetting, including identity resolution, risk screening, and data consistency checks across systems.
Until a final rule sets an effective date, travelers using the Visa Waiver Program will continue to follow current ESTA rules at the time they file, even as the agency considers whether to require broader disclosures in the future.
