Traveling to the US under Trump: Visa, border control and what to know

At the airports and borders of the land across the country, tourists and other visitors coming to the United States said they had been trapped in Trump’s administration campaign for a “enhanced examination”. Even legal immigrants, such as green card holders, and naturalized citizens have been drawn to additional questions and searches.

This has raised questions about the best practices for crossing the United States, the rights of travelers at the border and the legality of device and luggage searches.

Here are some things you need to know before visiting or returning to the United States, as a tourist, legal resident or citizen.

Are you a visitor with a visa or esta? It should be aligned with your travel plans.

According to the US Association of Civil Freedoms, US border officials have “widespread discretion” to deny the entrance. This decision may be made on the basis of the suspicion that the person enters the country for a purpose different from what their visa or electronic system says for the Authorization of Travel (ESTA) – for example, they have a tourist visa, but they appear to be planning to work.

“We have seen people held only to say they are” open to work “at Linkedin,” said Michael Wildes, a New Jersey immigration lawyer, who handled Melania Trump’s immigration to the United States. “This serves as proof that they don’t just go to Disneyland or a marriage.”

Cheryl David, a New York Migration Lawyer, stressed that they have not changed rules when they are going to enter the United States, but said, there is now a clear “zero -tolerance policy”.

This year, the family of Becky Burke, a 28 -year -old British tourist, said she stopped at the US border in the state of Washington on her way to a work trip, planning to market homework for free accommodation. While no money has changed, these arrangements could still be regarded as a job that would violate the terms of a tourist visa. Ms Burke ended up being held for 19 days before she was deported to Britain.

While the detention of future tourists is rare, deportations due to the wrong trip documentation is not.

If there are questions about passenger travel documents, border employees can take them off the line and submit them to additional examination, so luggage and electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones can be searched.

Even the holders of green cards and naturalized citizens may be subject to more examination.

US citizens and legal permanent residents cannot deny entry into the country because they refuse to surrender their devices, but such a refusal could lead to a longer customs process, ACLU said.

Catherine, 67, a naturalized citizen who moved to the United States 45 years ago, said he had never been selected for additional questioning when they came from immigration, but since the start of Trump’s administration has stopped twice for reasons that remain unclear. Catherine asked to be identified only by her middle name because of her fears that her naturalized situation could be revoked to speak.

More recently, Catherine returned from Argentina when she and her husband stopped at an airport in Dallas. Border control was automated, with passengers scanning passports to cross the gates, but when it was time to take a photo, a large red x shone on the screen for Catherine. Her husband spoke to border officials and the couple eventually passed.

Travelers’ social media, text conversations and other history on their devices can be searched.

Because border control is technically available outside the United States, visa travelers or those with ESTAS have a limited ability to promote their electronic devices, according to ACLU, and if they do, they are in danger of being liked.

There are generally two types of searches of an electronic device: manual and advanced, said Tom McBrien, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a non -profit internet in Washington. Manual searches include searching through an unlocked phone. The courts have generally considered it equivalent to the transfer from luggage and allowed manual searches to proceed without gaining a warrant, Mr McBrien said.

An advanced or “forensic” search involves connecting an external device to your phone to scan its contents. Some federal areas require a warrant for it, while others do not, said Mr McBrien.

Mr McBrien and other privacy experts recommend deleting anything you would not want to read or see from your device before arriving.

Mr McBrien also said it recommends that his clients turn off the face ID or the Touch ID features on their iPhones so that it needs more than an officer waving a phone in front of their face or placing his finger on it to open it. Even better, he said, is to turn off your phone before passing the border control because phones tend to require the full password when turned on again.

If you refuse to unlock your phone when prompted, the authorities can take advantage of it and will probably need to obtain a warrant to open it, he added. However, visitors can be deprived of entry to the United States because they refuse to unlock their phone.

However, Mr Wildes, a New Jersey -based immigration lawyer, said the main thing that patrol border officers are looking for is consistency.

If a forensic search shows a disabled social media account, employees may request to be reactivated, Mr Wildes said. If an e -mail account was recently deleted, they may request access to it.

Social media have become an important issue, he added, for “so many people who do not realize how much they can be active”.

Ms David, a migration lawyer, recalled a student visa client who denied entering the United States during Biden’s administration because he had photos on his phone with weapons, which officials were interpreted as a threat to the United States.

The best thing to do, Mr Wildes said, is to be honest and also to know the laws.

If you have a border problem, he said, the best move for visitors may be to withdraw your intention to enter the United States. In most cases, you can return to your country.

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