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British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

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Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#21

Post by scotty79 »

ralph84 wrote: post #14

This is one side of the story. There's likely more than just this text message that raised suspicion. But the law is quite clear that anyone applying for admission to the US is presumed to be an intending immigrant and the burden is on them to prove they will leave before their duration of status expires. Literally millions of people per year are denied visitor visas because they can't meet that burden of proof. Not…

> prove they will leave before their duration of status expires

How can you prove something that didn't happen yet? Best you can do is provide clues and circumstancial evidence but no proof.

It's good that they were being so vigilant! Let's not forget that USA has so much trouble with UK citizens overstaying their visas. /s

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#22

Post by hyperdunc »

Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Just wondering as to why people even bother with the US at all? What does the US give you that UK doesn’t, besides a fucked up government (even more so than the UK - see who’s in charge of the FCC or the tax filing situation), crazy & unreasonable immigration policies, etc? This won’t change as long as people accept it. But if tomorrow tourism & business travel slows down to a crawl because of this you can bet you’ll…

What does the US give you that the UK doesn't? First and second amendment protections. Perhaps those are not an advantage in your book?

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#23

Post by teh_infallible »

Something similar, though much less extreme happened to me. My Australian girlfriend got a year long visa to stay with me in the US. The immigration officer detained her for 3 hours, and eventually told her she could only stay for six months. (This was a long time ago, late 99s, so I can’t remember the justification or how he had the authority to alter a visa she had already been granted. He may have been lying.)

He himself wasn’t born in the US, a detail which really pissed me off at the time.

How can someone whose job is to check your visa have any power to alter it?

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#24

Post by silverdemon »

avocado4 wrote: post #18
Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Just wondering as to why people even bother with the US at all? What does the US give you that UK doesn’t, besides a fucked up government (even more so than the UK - see who’s in charge of the FCC or the tax filing situation), crazy & unreasonable immigration policies, etc? This won’t change as long as people accept it. But if tomorrow tourism & business travel slows down to a crawl because of this you can bet you’ll…

Unmatched opportunities for science, entrepreneurship, education, and technology. Population that's more welcoming to immigrants than any other place in the world by far. Outdoors. Cleaner air and water. Cheap prices. Diversity. Optimistic, friendly, and humble people.

This article suggests that its not "more welcoming to immigrants than any other place in the world by far" if a single private IM can get a guy banned for life.

Still a great place to visit, but I'll take a burner phone next time. Maybe a Huawei device :)

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#25

Post by dev_north_east »

actionowl wrote: post #7

Does the US _really_ have a problem with UK citizens overstaying their visa? I highly doubt it, this is insane.

Not British, but two Irish acquaintances of mine were rounded up and deported from the US in the early 2010s. I don't see a problem, they broke the law in illegally moving there. Such practices were common among Irish up until the 2000s. Doesn't happen so much anymore, but then again it is near impossible to legally emigrate there if you're from Ireland.

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#26

Post by kaisn »

avocado4 wrote: post #18
Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Just wondering as to why people even bother with the US at all? What does the US give you that UK doesn’t, besides a fucked up government (even more so than the UK - see who’s in charge of the FCC or the tax filing situation), crazy & unreasonable immigration policies, etc? This won’t change as long as people accept it. But if tomorrow tourism & business travel slows down to a crawl because of this you can bet you’ll…

Unmatched opportunities for science, entrepreneurship, education, and technology. Population that's more welcoming to immigrants than any other place in the world by far. Outdoors. Cleaner air and water. Cheap prices. Diversity. Optimistic, friendly, and humble people.

You must be joking or have never left the US for more than a few days.

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#27

Post by nailer »

hyperdunc wrote: post #22
Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Just wondering as to why people even bother with the US at all? What does the US give you that UK doesn’t, besides a fucked up government (even more so than the UK - see who’s in charge of the FCC or the tax filing situation), crazy & unreasonable immigration policies, etc? This won’t change as long as people accept it. But if tomorrow tourism & business travel slows down to a crawl because of this you can bet you’ll…

What does the US give you that the UK doesn't? First and second amendment protections. Perhaps those are not an advantage in your book?

We're allowed to do most things in the UK except communicate privately or talk about David Furnish.

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#28

Post by raverbashing »

teh_infallible wrote: post #23

Something similar, though much less extreme happened to me. My Australian girlfriend got a year long visa to stay with me in the US. The immigration officer detained her for 3 hours, and eventually told her she could only stay for six months. (This was a long time ago, late 99s, so I can’t remember the justification or how he had the authority to alter a visa she had already been granted. He may have been lying.) He…

Welcome to the bureaucracies of immigration, usually duration of the visa != duration of the allowed stay

You can of course appeal (with various degrees of success and cost)

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#29

Post by avocado4 »

kaisn wrote: post #26
avocado4 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unmatched opportunities for science, entrepreneurship, education, and technology. Population that's more welcoming to immigrants than any other place in the world by far. Outdoors. Cleaner air and water. Cheap prices. Diversity. Optimistic, friendly, and humble people.

You must be joking or have never left the US for more than a few days.

I was born and lived most of my life in Europe.

Re: British man banned from US because of text to American girlfriend

#30

Post by [deleted] »

avocado4 wrote: post #18
Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Just wondering as to why people even bother with the US at all? What does the US give you that UK doesn’t, besides a fucked up government (even more so than the UK - see who’s in charge of the FCC or the tax filing situation), crazy & unreasonable immigration policies, etc? This won’t change as long as people accept it. But if tomorrow tourism & business travel slows down to a crawl because of this you can bet you’ll…

Unmatched opportunities for science, entrepreneurship, education, and technology. Population that's more welcoming to immigrants than any other place in the world by far. Outdoors. Cleaner air and water. Cheap prices. Diversity. Optimistic, friendly, and humble people.

[deleted]
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