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.
This definitely happens, but it’s nothing new. I have a piece of steel supporting my ulna after a bad fight (and I can’t fight anymore). It sets off metal detectors, or it used to in the 1990s and 2000s, and definitely the ones that cropped up after 9/11 in NYC.
TSA people are so great; very focused in their efforts to kinda be power-trippy dicks at times. I can confirm that if you want to be swimsuit-level strip-searched in an out-of-the-way corner in full view of everyone, just flying into America is how we do it; ask to skip the cancer box for extra fun. CALL it the ‘cancer box’ if you really wanna be sure. I’m thankful for my brief military stint as it has removed all shame from my being and I was able to get processed quickly enough each time.
I’m super-rural and super-white, so that may be the super-power helping me avoid the worst of problems, and I’m sorry their racism makes everyone else’s experience that much worse than even mine.