Can anyone explain why it involved a J1 visa? I thought a B-1 sufficed for attendance (and even non-compensated presentations)
If you're already on a J1 you can only apply to have it renewed, and if you don't you get a two-year visa ban.
Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
11–20 of 107 posts
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#12> Indeed, public-key cryptography might not even
be with us today if Adi had not been involved with Ron Rivest and Leonard Adleman so long ago.
There you go, those pesky scientists making the surveillance industry's job that little bit harder.
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#13This was also submitted yesterday but didn't get much interest for some reason: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6560355 Similar recent story: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6499744 'US scientists boycott Nasa conference over China ban'
It was actually submitted at least twice yesterday:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562394
On HN, gaining interest depends on many factors. Great to see the story finally in the pole position! :)
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#14I quite like the 'apology' he received from the conference organizers:
> In July 2013 I told the NSA-affiliated conference organizers that I was having some problems in getting my visa, and gently asked whether they could do something about it. Always eager to help, the NSA people leaped into action, and immediately sent me a short email written with a lot of tact:
> “The trouble you are having is regrettable… Sorry you won’t be able to come to our conference. We have submitted our program and did not include you on it.”
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#15Does this have anything to do with the recent shutdown?
No, he received his visa on the day before the shutdown began.
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#16It's not that they didn't give him a J1 visa, it's just that they took way too long to process it. It sucks, but I wouldn't attribute to malice what I could attribute to inefficiency :)
It should not take four months and pulling a lot of strings to get a visa, in particular if you have been to the US for many times, have invitations from renowned institutions etc.
I am not a scientist and I can usually enter the US on the visa waiver program but I always wonder if the latest visit was also the last, you never know. And while you get used to the usual 1- or 2-hour wait at immigration, you never know if you get selected for a secondary check or worse. As much as I like the US and being in the US, entering the US is always very unpleasant.
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#17This was also submitted yesterday but didn't get much interest for some reason: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6560355 Similar recent story: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6499744 'US scientists boycott Nasa conference over China ban'
It was actually submitted at least twice yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6562394 On HN, gaining interest depends on many factors. Great to see the story finally in the pole position! :)
How much you can relate to the title is very important -- even on HN. Look at the 3 submission titles on HN:
(1) Cryptographer Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending NSA History Conference
(2) How The Government Blocked An Expert From Attending Its Own Cryptology Symposium
(3) Adi Shamir--the "S" in RSA encryption--Prevented from Attending US Crypto Talks
Number 3 (this submission) is getting the exposure the story deserves, and the reason (I think) is that everyone on HN knows what RSA is, and would have respect for its inventors.
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#18Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
It occurs more often than people realise.
My friend was in the US before he had to go out and get his H1B extended. He was stuck outside the country for about 5 months for "additional scrutiny". He got his undergrad, masters and Ph.D. in the US and worked in the area of chemical engineering + spent working 6 months in middle east on water filtration projects.
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#19Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
It occurs more often than people realise. My friend was in the US before he had to go out and get his H1B extended. He was stuck outside the country for about 5 months for "additional scrutiny". He got his undergrad, masters and Ph.D. in the US and worked in the area of chemical engineering + spent working 6 months in middle east on water filtration projects.
Didn't that make the headlines some months ago ? I remember something about a teacher writing on behalf of his student. "We give people top education and then prevent them from working in the US and this harms us".
Re: Adi Shamir Prevented from Attending Crypto and Cryptology Conferences
#20Adi Shamir wrote that the president of his institute says: "It is clear that scientists have been singled out, since I hear that other ‘simple citizen’, do get their visa in a short time." Scientists get more scrutiny? What in the world is going on there?
Happens all the time. A colleague of mine has issues because she happened to have worked in a lab previously whose building also happened to house a lab that did nuclear research (even though she never did any herself). Scientists also move around a lot, so it doesn't help if you've worked in/visited/just been to a conference in certain countries that might arouse suspicion... It's a bit of a nightmare actually.