The United States Government has proposed new mandatory screening requirements for travellers seeking entry under its Visa Waiver Programme.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a notice released on Wednesday, said applicants for the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) would be required to submit their social media history covering the past five years.

DHS said the proposed measure, to be published in the Federal Register, is aimed at strengthening national security and follows Executive Order 14161 signed in January 2025 to enhance foreign-threat detection.

According to reports the ESTA applicants are currently asked to provide their social media details voluntarily. The new guideline, however, makes the disclosure compulsory.

“The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last five years,” the notice stated.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the revision would improve identity verification, curb fraudulent applications and detect potential security risks.

Under the expanded requirements, applicants will also be expected to provide additional personal data, including email addresses used in the last 10 years, phone numbers from the past five years, IP addresses and metadata from submitted photographs.

The proposal further seeks to introduce more comprehensive family information and a wider range of biometric data, such as facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans and DNA samples.

According to DHS, the move aligns with updated federal biographic-data policies and will enhance the government’s capacity to validate identities.

Another key change in the proposal is the planned transition from the existing ESTA web portal to a mobile-only application system.

If approved, the revised rules will affect travellers from the 40 countries currently under the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme. Over 14 million ESTA applications are processed annually.

DHS said it is inviting public comments on the proposed changes within a 60-day window from the date of publication.

The proposal, if adopted, would represent one of the most extensive expansions of digital identity and social-media vetting requirements in U.S. immigration history.