3 ms·

As someone who has never had a social media account, I have wondered if US customs would believe me if I traveled there and they asked me about it?

nabla9 7y ago
Or if that's grounds for denial.
pvtmert 7y ago
you can send your hackernews account maybe?
- satori99 7y ago
  Sure, I can tell them about my github account too, and hopefully I haven't starred anyone who writes subversive code :P
  - hackandtrip 7y ago
    At least the last time I did the ESTA VISA for the US, they asked (optionally) for multiple social network, github too!
- 3JPLW 7y ago
  Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well. "No, I don't have a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account, but I do have an account on this site called Hacker News." "Oh, so are you a hacker?" Good luck.
pmiller2 7y ago
In all honesty, I’m not sure.
i_feel_great 7y ago
Depends on the colour of your skin, your class, your job, your sexuality, how you part your hair, your tattoos etc.
- jeena 7y ago
  Also on from which country your passport is.
dragonwriter 7y ago
You mean, whether they would actually believe you or whether they would use the issue as a pretext for denying a visa irrespective of whether they believe you? The immigration services (and law enforcement more generally) are widely known (the FBI even issued a report a few years back on the issue on law enforcement generally) to be extensively infiltrated by organized white supremacists, and that was true even before we had an Administration that stopped bothering with dog whistles and used openly racist appeals to justify immigration policy, setting the tone for those underneath. Not a great time to be a non-(White European) immigrant. Or even citizen of non-(White European) descent, as the casual disregard for due process in immigration related matters has seen several of them get extended stays in immigration detention despite ready ability to demonstrate citizenship.
haasted 7y ago
I imagine they would consider a HN account “social media”.
rsync 7y ago
"As someone who has never had a social media account, I have wondered if US customs would believe me if I traveled there and they asked me about it?" In my case, I personally do not use social media, but rsync.net (a corporation in California) has, and uses, a Twitter and Github account, etc. I am the owner of rsync.net so ... do I have social media accounts ?

nabla9 7y ago

Or if that's grounds for denial.

pvtmert 7y ago

you can send your hackernews account maybe?

satori99 7y ago
Sure, I can tell them about my github account too, and hopefully I haven't starred anyone who writes subversive code :P
- hackandtrip 7y ago
  At least the last time I did the ESTA VISA for the US, they asked (optionally) for multiple social network, github too!
3JPLW 7y ago
Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well. "No, I don't have a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account, but I do have an account on this site called Hacker News." "Oh, so are you a hacker?" Good luck.

pmiller2 7y ago

In all honesty, I’m not sure.

i_feel_great 7y ago

Depends on the colour of your skin, your class, your job, your sexuality, how you part your hair, your tattoos etc.

jeena 7y ago
Also on from which country your passport is.

dragonwriter 7y ago

You mean, whether they would actually believe you or whether they would use the issue as a pretext for denying a visa irrespective of whether they believe you? The immigration services (and law enforcement more generally) are widely known (the FBI even issued a report a few years back on the issue on law enforcement generally) to be extensively infiltrated by organized white supremacists, and that was true even before we had an Administration that stopped bothering with dog whistles and used openly racist appeals to justify immigration policy, setting the tone for those underneath. Not a great time to be a non-(White European) immigrant. Or even citizen of non-(White European) descent, as the casual disregard for due process in immigration related matters has seen several of them get extended stays in immigration detention despite ready ability to demonstrate citizenship.

haasted 7y ago

I imagine they would consider a HN account “social media”.

rsync 7y ago

"As someone who has never had a social media account, I have wondered if US customs would believe me if I traveled there and they asked me about it?" In my case, I personally do not use social media, but rsync.net (a corporation in California) has, and uses, a Twitter and Github account, etc. I am the owner of rsync.net so ... do I have social media accounts ?