Citizens seeking visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy in Korea. Yonhap News

The Trump administration in the United States plans to strengthen screening for foreigners seeking to enter the country through the Visa Waiver Program's Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on the 10th (local time) that would require ESTA applicants to submit their social media information from the past five years.

This directive follows President Trump's executive order signed on January 20th, which called for enhanced screening of foreigners intending to enter the United States.

CBP stated that when possible, it will request applicants' personal and business phone numbers used over the past five years, and personal and business email addresses used over the past ten years.

Information that applicants will need to submit may also include the names of their family members (parents, spouse, siblings, children), as well as their phone numbers, dates of birth, places of birth, and residences from the past five years.

Biometric data such as fingerprints, DNA, and iris scans of applicants may also be requested.

CBP announced that it will discontinue accepting ESTA applications through its website and will only process them via its mobile application moving forward.

CBP explained that this is intended to enhance security and efficiency.

Furthermore, the plan is to require applicants to submit not only passport-style photos but also selfies.

CBP plans to collect public comments on this proposed rule for 60 days.

ESTA allows citizens of countries that have signed a visa waiver agreement with the U.S. to visit the United States for up to 90 days for business, tourism, or transit purposes without needing to obtain a separate visa.

Currently, 42 countries, including South Korea, are visa waiver countries.

The Trump administration has been strengthening verification of social media and other online activities not only for ESTA but also for various visa applications.

Previously, the U.S. Department of State instructed its overseas missions worldwide to verify resumes and LinkedIn profiles of H-1B visa applicants to ascertain whether they have been involved in "online censorship" related work.

Additionally, the Trump administration is reviewing social media accounts of student visa applicants to identify any posts that express anti-American sentiment during the visa screening process.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Fragomen, a law firm specializing in immigration law, predicts that as the amount of information collected by the government increases, ESTA applicants may take longer to receive approval for entry and may be more likely to be flagged for detailed scrutiny.

Beau Cooper, a partner at the firm, commented that a "paradigm shift" is occurring in entry screening, as the government is now using social media not to verify specific facts like criminal activity, as it has in the past, but rather to deny entry based on applicants' online expressions.