3 ms·

If you know something they want to know and they decide to make you reveal it, then you have the choice of going back home or revealing it. Entering the USA is

If you know something they want to know and they decide to make you reveal it, then you have the choice of going back home or revealing it. Entering the USA is not a right unless you are a citizen. But you're much more vulnerable if you bring data with you. The first level of protection is making a backup, formatting your devices as new, and restoring once you're on US soil. Better yet is not bringing devices at all. But certainly don't bring secrets with you: bank records, medical records, and military secrets should never be carried with you through customs.

tptacek 10y ago
If you're a non-citizen and you choose to go back home, you're probably also choosing not to be admitted back into the US for a long stretch of time, at least without a struggle.
- WildUtah 10y ago
  Yes, it's a small but real risk foreigners should consider every time they chose to cross the US border.
  - dzhiurgis 10y ago
    It's no small risk. It's forcing you to whistleblow with no protection. Forcing you to do something, that they kill their own citizens for.
- patio11 10y ago
  This depends on the particulars of what happened, and it's going to be difficult for most non-experts to navigate, in the same fashion as "determine whether this code is Python or Ruby" is difficult if you've never seen a command line. Say you're talking to your friendly neighborhood CBP officer and they say this: "I think you're an immigration risk and, accordingly, I'm issuing an Order for Expedited Removal. You get on the next plane back home." Your passport gets tagged with a 5 year timeout. However, they could say something like: "I think you're not eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, because some factors suggest you're an immigration risk. I recommend you withdraw your application for entry into the United States and voluntarily get on the next plane back home." You will not get timed out for 5 years. Note that the second one is neither a recommendation nor a request. Disclaimer: IANAL but IA someone who has to have an anomalously-good-for-most-Americans understanding of immigration procedure.

tptacek 10y ago

If you're a non-citizen and you choose to go back home, you're probably also choosing not to be admitted back into the US for a long stretch of time, at least without a struggle.

WildUtah 10y ago
Yes, it's a small but real risk foreigners should consider every time they chose to cross the US border.
- dzhiurgis 10y ago
  It's no small risk. It's forcing you to whistleblow with no protection. Forcing you to do something, that they kill their own citizens for.
patio11 10y ago
This depends on the particulars of what happened, and it's going to be difficult for most non-experts to navigate, in the same fashion as "determine whether this code is Python or Ruby" is difficult if you've never seen a command line. Say you're talking to your friendly neighborhood CBP officer and they say this: "I think you're an immigration risk and, accordingly, I'm issuing an Order for Expedited Removal. You get on the next plane back home." Your passport gets tagged with a 5 year timeout. However, they could say something like: "I think you're not eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, because some factors suggest you're an immigration risk. I recommend you withdraw your application for entry into the United States and voluntarily get on the next plane back home." You will not get timed out for 5 years. Note that the second one is neither a recommendation nor a request. Disclaimer: IANAL but IA someone who has to have an anomalously-good-for-most-Americans understanding of immigration procedure.