In addition to the observations of this article, I can say from first hand experience the Dept Homeland Security jumps on the term "hacker" when they are review

In addition to the observations of this article, I can say from first hand experience the Dept Homeland Security jumps on the term "hacker" when they are reviewing your visa situation upon arriving (back) into the USA from a foreign visit. I'm described as "hacker-turned-consultant" in a lot of places (I work with big companies often, they like that), including my own blog now, and they did a quick search for me online and decided to grill me on it. With Lulzsec, Anonymous, etc I'm even more concerned now...