I will be entering the US in October to work for about a year and half as a visiting researcher. I will be accompanied by my partner and his two children.
I am very scared on what to expect at the border because of all the stories I hear about detentions, refusals, etc.
My concerns are:
- Do they ask everyone to unlock their phones and download EVERYTHING in there for later analysis?
- Related to point 1., refusing to unlock and give access will make you suspect and they refuse entry?
- Do they also ask you to unlock your laptop? I have stuff encrypted there as I often have to process sensitive patient data for a project I am working.
- Do they do a complete biometric data collection of you and the kids?
Also, how do we conduct ourselves at the border entry to avoid getting absolutely shafted?
P.S.: I am not in a position to call off the trip. Visa is ready and tickets are brought.
As sad as it is having to bring this up in regards to US immigration: how Caucasian looking are you? I unfortunately feel this will have bearing here.
You can create another profile on your phone, make it look lived in but sanatize it. Your laptop will be tougher but encrypted cloud services exist. Any country you enter will get the biometrics of your passport picture on the chip. Additionally, they take fingerprints, I think, and there is nothing you can do about that.
Most people don’t have problems getting in. If you haven’t been to Iran lately…
Also straight, how anti-labour rights you are, etc…
Working for billionnaires is stupid.
Also having public social media accounts that contain anything critical about US politics can be a problem.
Not sure if many people outside Usa know this hypocritical term for a white person…
(OTOH: How many people inside Usa know where the Caucasus is? Hint: it is not very far from Irak)
I always thought it was in Russia
It was, until the USSR broke up. It’s now in Georgia, Azerbaijan and… Part of Russia. Not that far away from Irak