The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has fired a fresh salvo at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over sweeping new data-collection plans for Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) users.
In formal comments filed on February 6 and released publicly on February 9, the world’s largest corporate-travel lobby says the draft rule—requiring five years of social-media identifiers, up to ten years of phone numbers, e-mail addresses, extended family details and, eventually, biometric ‘selfies’—risks turning a friction-less pre-clearance system into an obstacle course. GBTA chief executive Suzanne Neufang argues that the rule, as written, “poses significant competitive, operational and economic consequences” and could shift high-value meetings, conferences and investment away from the United States. An industry poll of 571 travel managers in 40 countries shows 78 percent are “very or somewhat concerned”; two-thirds already foresee employees refusing trips that involve extensive personal-data disclosure. European respondents are especially alarmed, citing potential conflicts with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Beyond privacy objections, GBTA highlights practical snags. CBP intends to scrap the ESTA website in favor of a mobile-only app—problematic for corporate travellers whose devices are locked down by IT policies. Additional form fields could lengthen approval times beyond the current minutes-long turnaround, undermining last-minute travel that is common in deal-making and crisis-response work. Airlines and travel-management companies would have to re-tool booking flows, while corporate mobility teams would shoulder new duty-of-care and cost burdens.
![GBTA warns proposed ESTA data-grab could hit U.S. business travel]()
Amid this evolving landscape, many travel managers are turning to VisaHQ for help navigating U.S. entry requirements. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) consolidates the latest ESTA and visa rules, offers document-check services, and can pre-screen travellers’ applications to minimise surprises at the border—saving corporates both time and compliance headaches.
The association urges CBP to narrow data requests to fields “with demonstrable security utility,” keep the web portal alive, and pilot any biometric elements before mandating them. CBP has not indicated whether it will scale back the proposal; the public-comment docket closes February 9, after which the agency may issue a final rule. If adopted unchanged, the requirements would apply to nationals of 42 Visa Waiver Program countries as early as mid-2026.
For multinationals, the stakes are high. International business travel to the United States has yet to recover to 2019 levels, and a separate $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” took effect on January 1. Travel-industry economists warn the twin measures could cost the U.S. economy billions more in visitor spending at a time when other destinations—Canada, the U.K. and Singapore among them—are actively courting conferences and foreign direct investment.
GBTA’s pushback therefore marks a rare moment of near-unanimity among airlines, hotel groups, tech companies and mobility managers: tighten security, they say, but do not sacrifice the speed and predictability that make the Visa Waiver Program a cornerstone of global commerce.
In formal comments filed on February 6 and released publicly on February 9, the world’s largest corporate-travel lobby says the draft rule—requiring five years of social-media identifiers, up to ten years of phone numbers, e-mail addresses, extended family details and, eventually, biometric ‘selfies’—risks turning a friction-less pre-clearance system into an obstacle course. GBTA chief executive Suzanne Neufang argues that the rule, as written, “poses significant competitive, operational and economic consequences” and could shift high-value meetings, conferences and investment away from the United States. An industry poll of 571 travel managers in 40 countries shows 78 percent are “very or somewhat concerned”; two-thirds already foresee employees refusing trips that involve extensive personal-data disclosure. European respondents are especially alarmed, citing potential conflicts with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Beyond privacy objections, GBTA highlights practical snags. CBP intends to scrap the ESTA website in favor of a mobile-only app—problematic for corporate travellers whose devices are locked down by IT policies. Additional form fields could lengthen approval times beyond the current minutes-long turnaround, undermining last-minute travel that is common in deal-making and crisis-response work. Airlines and travel-management companies would have to re-tool booking flows, while corporate mobility teams would shoulder new duty-of-care and cost burdens.
Amid this evolving landscape, many travel managers are turning to VisaHQ for help navigating U.S. entry requirements. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) consolidates the latest ESTA and visa rules, offers document-check services, and can pre-screen travellers’ applications to minimise surprises at the border—saving corporates both time and compliance headaches.
The association urges CBP to narrow data requests to fields “with demonstrable security utility,” keep the web portal alive, and pilot any biometric elements before mandating them. CBP has not indicated whether it will scale back the proposal; the public-comment docket closes February 9, after which the agency may issue a final rule. If adopted unchanged, the requirements would apply to nationals of 42 Visa Waiver Program countries as early as mid-2026.
For multinationals, the stakes are high. International business travel to the United States has yet to recover to 2019 levels, and a separate $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” took effect on January 1. Travel-industry economists warn the twin measures could cost the U.S. economy billions more in visitor spending at a time when other destinations—Canada, the U.K. and Singapore among them—are actively courting conferences and foreign direct investment.
GBTA’s pushback therefore marks a rare moment of near-unanimity among airlines, hotel groups, tech companies and mobility managers: tighten security, they say, but do not sacrifice the speed and predictability that make the Visa Waiver Program a cornerstone of global commerce.
