Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection-009 Electronic System for Travel Authorization System of Records

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to update and reissue the DHS system of records titled, "DHS/U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)-009 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) System of Records." This system of records allows DHS/CBP to collect and maintain records on nonimmigrant aliens seeking to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program and other persons, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, whose names are provided to DHS as part of a nonimmigrant alien's ESTA application. The system is used to determine whether an applicant is eligible to travel to and enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) by vetting his or her ESTA application information against selected security and law enforcement databases at DHS, including but not limited to TECS (not an acronym) and the Automated Targeting System (ATS). In addition, ATS retains a copy of ESTA application data to identify ESTA applicants who may pose a security risk to the United States. The ATS maintains copies of key elements of certain databases in order to minimize the impact of processing searches on the operational systems and to act as a backup for certain operational systems. DHS may also vet ESTA application information against security and law enforcement databases at other Federal agencies to enhance DHS's ability to determine whether the applicant poses a security risk to the United States and is eligible to travel to and enter the United States under the VWP. The results of this vetting may inform DHS's assessment of whether the applicant's travel poses a law enforcement or security risk and whether the application should be approved. DHS/CBP is updating this system of records notice, last published on February 23, 2016 (81 FR 8979), to modify the scope of the system of records to reflect that the Secretary of Homeland Security is adding Somalia, Libya, and Yemen to the list of countries of concern for heightened ESTA enhancement questions. DHS/CBP is also updating the categories of records to include these new countries of concerns to the ESTA enhancement questions and an additional data element, the including Global Entry Program Number, to assist DHS/CBP in determining eligibility to travel under the VWP. DHS/CBP issued a Final Rule to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act on August 31, 2009 (74 FR 45070). These regulations remain in effect.