US Implements Limits to Hungarian Nationals’ ESTA Authorizations

On August 1, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the validity period for travel to the US offered to citizens or nationals of Hungary under the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”) utilizing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) has been reduced from two years to one year. Additionally, only single visits will be allowed under each ESTA application, as opposed to multiple entries.  According to the US Embassy in Budapest, the reduction of ESTA validity is due to the “Hungarian Government’s inaction” to meet VWP security requirements in line with its “simplified naturalization process” granting Hungarian citizenship “to nearly one million people between 2011 and 2020 without adequate security measures in place to verify their identities.” The reduction in ESTA validity will affect new ESTA applications received after the implementation of the regulation on August 1, 2023 and is not retroactive. All ESTA approvals granted before August 1, 2023 remain valid for two years and more than one entry. 

The Intercept: “The US Government Wants to Read Travelers’ Tweets Before Letting Them In”

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wants to start collecting online information from travelers coming to the US under the Visa Waiver Program. Earlier this summer, CBP proposed including a field on certain customs forms for “provider/platform” and “social media identifier.” If approved by the Office of Management and Budget, these changes could take effect by December. The Visa Waiver Program is used by millions of travelers and enables citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of ninety days or less without first obtaining a visa, when they meet all the requirements.

The Intercept reports that in recent weeks privacy groups have criticized the proposal, saying it could stifle online expression and gives DHS and CBP too much authority to determine what kind of online activity constitutes a “risk to the United States” or “nefarious activity.” The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression says the amount of information being collected was “vague and open-ended,” and that he was “concerned” that “government officials might have largely unfettered authority to collect, analyze, share and retain personal and sensitive information about travelers and their online associations.” A group of eleven civil liberties organizations claim that with the proposed changes it “appears that even if a friend or associate has not directly interacted with the applicant on social media, the agency will ferret out connections.”

CBP and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, claim the social media question will be optional, and that the agencies “would only have access to information publicly available on those platforms, consistent with the privacy settings of the platforms.” A CBP spokesperson also claims in a statement that collecting social media information “may help detect potential threats because experience has shown that criminals and terrorists, whether intentionally or not, have provided previously unavailable information via social media that identified their true intentions.” The CBP spokesperson did not clarify to The Intercept if refusing to answer the social media questions would negatively impact Visa Waiver Program applications, or flag travelers for extra screening.

While not listed as a question as part of the visa application process, for at least a few years consular officers at US Embassies/Consulates and immigration officers at US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) have been checking up on applicants online, typically to verify credentials and see if there is any evidence the applicant is misrepresenting work history. For example, consular officers may check the IMDB page or foreign equivalent to see if the actor has indeed worked on projects claimed. But it’s not just foreign nationals being affected, privacy groups warn. Access Now and other privacy groups note that by looking at the social presence of foreigners, DHS will “inevitably suck up, retain, and share with other agencies huge amounts of information on Americans who are connected to them, even in a tangential way.” 

The comment period for the proposal ended earlier this month, and now the Office of Management and Budget has sixty days to ask the agency to amend the proposal or sign off on the change.

NY Times: “European Union to Consider Requiring Visas for U.S. Travelers”

The days of visa free travel for Americans to the European Union may be over. While Americans take for granted the ease of traveling without a visa to many European countries—while, conversely, many Europeans travel to the US visa-free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)—the European Union is threatening to change the requirements if the US government does not agree to include additional European member states, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania, in the Visa Waiver Program. Although the deadline for the decision was this week, and has now been moved to this summer, the timing is not ideal, as the New York Times explains: 

The escalating dispute comes at a time when Washington is especially concerned about security, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Europe and the presence of suspected terrorists in the flow of migrants to the Continent out of the Middle East. Should the commission decide to move toward imposing visa requirements, it could be a blow to trans-Atlantic relations just before a visit to Europe by President Obama and could complicate negotiations on other issues, including a proposed trade deal.

Security concerns, however, haven’t affected certain European officials who are pressuring Washington to include the additional countries in visa-free travel. “Over the past months, all sides have intensified their efforts in order to reach tangible and concrete progress,” Mina Andreeva, a spokeswoman for the commission, said in a statement. “Our goal is full reciprocal visa waiver with our strategic partners,” she said.

The Visa Waiver Program currently includes thirty-eight member countries, and the program enables eligible citizens of approved countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of ninety days or less without first obtaining a visa, as long as they apply and are approved under the ESTA program. Last year additional security measures were added to the Visa Waiver Program.

In Bulgaria, the economy minister, Bojidar Loukarsky, reportedly told local news media in 2014 that his country’s support for a trade pact with the US was contingent on visa-free travel to the US for his country’s citizens, while Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, disagreed, telling the New York Times: “No matter what happens with visas, this should not impact trade negotiations with the United States as immigration plays no formal part in those talks.”

Artur Habant, the spokesman for the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union in Brussels, said it’s a matter of fairness, as US citizens can travel to Poland visa-free. “Polish governments have been lobbying for a long time with the U.S. authorities, in Congress and in the administration, to eliminate this obstacle in traveling to the United States.” US officials, however, are concerned that countries such as Romania have not met the requirements to be included in the VWP.