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US demands social media details from visa applicants

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191–200 of 355 posts

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#191
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a big fear for many h1bs (atleast those who I know). What if they travel to India, and then the visa officer decides just like that to deny. What will happen to their stuff in US, their apartment, car etc? These people have done nothing wrong and have all the paperwork, still have that (irrational) fear.

Is it irrational?

Clearly the above post's point is it's irrational that they have to have that fear, not that the fear itself is irrational

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#192
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can some lawyer explain why these questions are necessary? I understand that you can add extra convictions for lying on these applications, but all the above questions are quite damning themselves. Like >> Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization? Assuming you are: you answer yes and you get denied a visa (duh). Answer no and the gov doesn't know, what happens? You commit terrorist activities on…

> I understand that you can add extra convictions for lying on these applications You simply get kicked out pretty much immediately if they find out you lied. It can mean also the revocation of citizenship as it is now considered obtained fraudulently. That all can be done rather "easily" since it's procedural, without a long legal battle involved. Now all kinds of "funny" things can happen there. Say someone belongs…

That one seems pretty simple.

If you played for a team, you were a member of that team.

If 10 years after you leave, that team goes on to win the championship, you are not and were never part of a "championship team."

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can some lawyer explain why these questions are necessary? I understand that you can add extra convictions for lying on these applications, but all the above questions are quite damning themselves. Like >> Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization? Assuming you are: you answer yes and you get denied a visa (duh). Answer no and the gov doesn't know, what happens? You commit terrorist activities on…

I thought the idea was that if it's found out later that you are a member of a terrorist organization you can be kicked out, even if you haven't yet done anything explicitly illegal, because you lied on the Visa application.

Isn't being a member of a terrorist organization enough to kick them out?

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#194
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a social credit system. The US has zero obligation to let anyone into the country and can deny a visa for no reason at all if they choose. This isn't even close to the same thing as the Chinese government banning their own citizens from using Chinese services and infrastructure because of "bad social behavior".

This is terrible for the us. It's just another invasive thing and other countries will now use this opportunity to spy on me in return. It's idiotic. Your comment sets up a pointless argument in that of course no country is required to admit anyone, but reasonable policies invite good reciprocal treatment.

You say that like countries already don't take opportunities to spy on foreigners.

> Your comment sets up a pointless argument in that of course no country is required to admit anyone, but reasonable policies invite good reciprocal treatment.

All I said was that the US has no obligation to do anything for outsiders. I didn't say they shouldn't and obviously they do - just don't expect some kind of natural right to be accorded to you if you aren't a citizen of their country.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#195
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And don't get me started on the stupid fact that you cannot renew your US visa within the US, and in the end people on student/work visas have to take the pointless trip to Canada/Mexico just to get a new visa. That’s a feature, not a bug. You don’t have to kick people out if they can’t renew, you just don’t let them back in.

This is a big fear for many h1bs (atleast those who I know). What if they travel to India, and then the visa officer decides just like that to deny. What will happen to their stuff in US, their apartment, car etc? These people have done nothing wrong and have all the paperwork, still have that (irrational) fear.

So many H1bs don't even think about buying a lot of furniture, a car or a house for this reason.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#196
post #129

As any US Visa applicant can attest to, the DS-160 is already some of the most annoying form you have to fill - in fact for most people it's less pleasurable than doing 1040. In addition to asking for details of every school you went to, every job you had, every country you've been to, they ask you questions like this: >> Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled su…

And don't get me started on the stupid fact that you cannot renew your US visa within the US, and in the end people on student/work visas have to take the pointless trip to Canada/Mexico just to get a new visa. That’s a feature, not a bug. You don’t have to kick people out if they can’t renew, you just don’t let them back in.

This applies to New Zealand afaik, my sister leaves to Australia while she has to renew her visa in NZ. So this isn't unique.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#197
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a social credit system. The US has zero obligation to let anyone into the country and can deny a visa for no reason at all if they choose. This isn't even close to the same thing as the Chinese government banning their own citizens from using Chinese services and infrastructure because of "bad social behavior".

This is the isolationist attitude that people have a problem with. We don't "owe" anything to anyone, but this not the behavior of the greatest country in the world.

> We don't "owe" anything to anyone, but this not the behavior of the greatest country in the world.

I didn't say the US shouldn't let people in or be respectful of foreigners - I was just stating the fact that they do not have any legal obligation to do so. Of course they do it because it is good for the country - but if they stop, who is going to make them change their mind? It's up to the American people to decide what they want for their country at any given time - the rest of the world has no power to make them do otherwise - as does any other country and I wouldn't want to force any country to take people they don't want to either.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#198
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try buying a firearm while on a tourist visa.

Get a hunting licence and you can do that.

Well yes, but that is a privilege that the country bestows upon you as a token of good will and faith - not a natural right under the constituion; and I would not expect it either. Should I be allowed the affordances of the 1st amendment while on American soil to advocate for the fall of the American republic? I would be deported very swiftly.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#199

This was stupid when it was just potential employers expecting this information, and it’s even stupider here. Let’s see how many bad reasons for this I can come up with in 30 seconds: 1. Social media may be popular but it is not universal (I still know people without a Facebook profile for instance). Thus, while the government should expect that someone may truthfully answer “I don’t have social media accounts”, I’ll…

Its not just privacy nuts that are avoiding facebook. Average people may have deleted their account because it is known that using social media has negative effects on your mental health. You could just have a dummy facebook account with no data on it and just say you don't use it because you quit facebook for mental well being.

Re: US demands social media details from visa applicants

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nativism is a reaction to the decline of the middle classes prospects. Half of America is not doing well and has been overlooked. The better educated amongst us are blinded by their own progress and weren’t looking inward. We will see more focus on nativist policies in our lifetime as automation continues to eat jobs.

Correct. A lot of people wanted an "outsider" and to "drain the swamp". In other words they don't feel represented by their elected officials, or treated fairly by the government, and they want things to change. Despite this desire being co-opted and twisted by Trump's campaign and Fox News, the underlying feelings are valid for a lot of people across the USA. The Democratic party should have realized this back durin…

> All that good energy and hope broke like a wave against that huge political cliff, and had far less impact than everyone needed.

He seemed happy enough with the party-line vote in the Senate on the first major bill of his presidency:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvest...

And he wasn't too concerned about bipartisanship when it came to passing the ACA only a year later, arguably the biggest bill of the decade. There were several forms of procedural hardball happening in the process of passing that. It was certainly passed narrowly and along party lines. And, partly because of the lack of bipartisan agreement, not all of it survived court challenges.

If it's true that Obama was genuinely optimistic and down on cynicism during his 2008 campaign, he must have wised up quickly. Otherwise, maybe people read some things into the "Hope" message that weren't actually there. He came from the Chicago school of politics, though, so I'm skeptical that the narrative of broken good energy really fits.

And I think this sort of thing feeds into the Trump narrative of a "swamp" that needs draining. Obama certainly didn't come up with Washington partisanship, but the hard landing after all the Hope posters probably increased cynicism on the whole and gave Trump a chance. Remember, he didn't exactly win his election by a landslide.

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