Any newer experiences at border crossings (as tourist, resident, or immigrant visa), with Trump Administration / increased Social Media reviews

[garebear397 84]

Wondering if anyone has recent experience / or more information about entering the US (by land or air), and specifically if there were more reviews of phones / social media. There have been more news stories of tourists or people with work visas being turned away or detained based on what they find in people's phones, so just trying to see if there have been recent experiences here. 

 

 

 

 

[vanhiscers87 20]

My mom recently visited me here in the U.S. on a tourist visa last month. She's visited the U.S. many times (during all of Obama, Trump-1st and Biden), and her experience this time was no different than the previous times if not "a little bit simpler" in her own words. The only thing different was that she finally met a CBP officer that speaks Mandarin, and she was asked about whether she has brought excessive amount of cigarettes or meat/fruit... That's it.

 

I'm a U.S. citizen now, but I haven't traveled during Trump's 2nd term yet. During his first term, however, I went to Canada once, and at Vancouver Airport, you go through U.S. passport control before boarding the plane. That time, I was asked how I became a U.S. citizen, and I told him via marriage. Then he let me go.  I didn't know why he asked the question though, because he should have access to that info if he wish to obtain, so maybe he was just curious as he was Asian too? I've traveled outside of the U.S. both as a LPR and a citizen more than a handful of times, and that was the only time I was asked an immigration-related question.

 

Oh, I went back to China right before the Pandemic in January 2020, which was during Trump's first term. By the time I was coming back, only U.S. citizens and LPRs were allowed in. My flight was switched 3 times understandably, and passengers from China had to go through a quick health screening, but again, re-entering the U.S. was no issue.

Edited Tuesday at 04:43 AM by vanhiscers87

[DorothyK 0]

Any Canadians worried about crossing the border to visit family and friends and being denied entry into USA with your greencard. I have heard they are checking phones for antitrust and revoking green cards. 

Oops should read anti Trump

[Crazy Cat 42,964]

51 minutes ago, DorothyK said:

Any Canadians worried about crossing the border to visit family and friends and being denied entry into USA with your greencard. I have heard they are checking phones for antitrust and revoking green cardsbe. 

Oops should read anti Trump

They cannot revoke a Green Card at the border.

[finrazor 0]

Well... We're giving it a go soon. My Colombian wife received her green card a month ago and is going to visit her mother in a week then return at the end of April. She was born in Venezuela, however, her nationality is Colombian and she holds a passport from there. She's super worried about the return. Everything I've read points toward no problems so praying this to be the case. 

[vanhiscers87 20]

3 hours ago, finrazor said:

Well... We're giving it a go soon. My Colombian wife received her green card a month ago and is going to visit her mother in a week then return at the end of April. She was born in Venezuela, however, her nationality is Colombian and she holds a passport from there. She's super worried about the return. Everything I've read points toward no problems so praying this to be the case. 

 

I'm a big fan of the show Border Security, as much as all the border news stories are concerning, thinking back on the TV show as well as my own immigration knowledge, I know for a fact that these things happen on a daily basis across all major U.S. airports under all administrations. We all know that a valid U.S. is no guarantee of entry. You can literally visit the U.S. on a British passport visa-free, and CBP can still turn you away because they think you're poor and can't support yourself for 3 weeks.

 

The only person I know who was turned away at a U.S. border was one of my college friends. She was born and raised in Dubai, but because both her parents are Indian, she's an Indian citizen. She left the U.S. for India after college, and tried to come back on a tourist visa. At the time, she was single, but was in a long-distance relationship with a U.S. citizen. She booked a one way flight with no return flight, and she expected the CBP officer to give her a 6-month stay. Being single and visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa without a return flight was a red flag itself. She didn't discuss any of her plans with me beforehand. I was freaking out about losing contact with her for 2 days until she messaged me that she was deported, had her visa revoked, and barred from entry for 10 years. It turned out the CBP officer not only discovered that she had no return flight booked, but also the fact she planned to "volunteer" at a local bookstore. That happened during the Obama administration by the way.

 

Quite a few of the news stories coming out these past few weeks were all from the Boston airport, so yes, maybe the CBP team there went overboard, OR someone is leaking the stories there.

Edited Tuesday at 06:22 PM by vanhiscers87