US may tie social media to visa applications

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#1991140 7-Apr-2018 16:45

MichaelNZ:

From what I have herad - on arrival to the USA - can be a pretty unpleasant experience for some.

I've never know anybody who has described the experience as "unpleasant". If you enter the US via IAH or SFO the experience is a breeze with friendly CBP staff. In all my travels through those airports I've never taken more than around 20 mins or so from plane to leaving baggage claim. LAX is a different story though with this often taking around 45 - 60 mins in part because of the time Air NZ services arrive, and the fact the airport is so busy (and simply inefficient).

If you've done things which will exclude yourself from entering the US (and we've seen plenty of such posts in recent years) then it can certainly be an unpleasant experience. For the 99.9% of people who aren't in this category I'd describe the process as being pretty good, and certainly better than many other countries. Even LAX is a superior experience to most UK airports or EU entry points.

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#1991141 7-Apr-2018 16:46

MichaelNZ:

From what I have herad - on arrival to the USA - can be a pretty unpleasant experience for some.

The Asians have a different mindset and quite frankly, Uncle Sam just ain't competitive anymore.

IMO I have no issue with a country being tough at it's border. It's the one opportunity and easiest place to keep problems out. Will they get it right every time? No. I experienced a grilling (about 30 mins with immigration) on arrival to the UK a few years ago. The onus was on me, the non-citizen, to prove my intentions in their country are legitimate. Still enjoyed my time there and didn't bother me at all.

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#1992706 10-Apr-2018 13:07

Starscream122:

A lot of people haven't even heard of New Zealand.. When I play PubG the chinese ask me where I am from they don't know I have to say ''near Australia'' then they know.

ˆSo true!

I don't think bad people usually take selfies while exploding buildings and post them on social networks with #dieinfidels hashtags on it. So, what's the point of checking the visa applicants posts?

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#1992918 10-Apr-2018 18:55

sbiddle:

If you've done things which will exclude yourself from entering the US (and we've seen plenty of such posts in recent years) then it can certainly be an unpleasant experience. For the 99.9% of people who aren't in this category

Which sounds like "if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear", which of course, is ridiculous.

A friend of mine in the Philippines - a US citizen - told me they would demand his facebook username and password when he re-entered the country because he had been away more than 6 months.

"No thanks" I say to that.

The Empire is on a decline anyway. Too many other interesting shows available. Asia, on the other hand, is on the ascendency.

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#1992921 10-Apr-2018 18:58

How can they even know/prove you HAVE a FB account?

sbiddle

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#1992922 10-Apr-2018 18:58

MichaelNZ:

sbiddle:

If you've done things which will exclude yourself from entering the US (and we've seen plenty of such posts in recent years) then it can certainly be an unpleasant experience. For the 99.9% of people who aren't in this category

Which sounds like "if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear", which of course, is ridiculous.

A friend of mine in the Philippines - a US citizen - told me they would demand his facebook username and password when he re-entered the country because he had been away more than 6 months.

"No thanks" I say to that.

The Empire is on a decline anyway.

Considering this is not the norm you'd have to be asking what he's done to be subjected to that profiling - whether it be suspicious travel or destinations. The answer almost certainly won't be "nothing".

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#1992926 10-Apr-2018 19:02

sbiddle:

Considering this is not the norm you'd have to be asking what he's done to be subjected to that profiling - whether it be suspicious travel or destinations. The answer almost certainly won't be "nothing".

Wow, "profiling". How convenient for the powers that be.

In his case - running a charitable project in the Philippines, a country with a long history of being onside with Uncle Sam.

I have heard these sorts of themes now so many times they can't possible all be wrong... or villians... or (gulp!) terrorists.

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#1992929 10-Apr-2018 19:11

sbiddle:

MichaelNZ:

From what I have herad - on arrival to the USA - can be a pretty unpleasant experience for some.

I've never know anybody who has described the experience as "unpleasant". If you enter the US via IAH or SFO the experience is a breeze with friendly CBP staff. In all my travels through those airports I've never taken more than around 20 mins or so from plane to leaving baggage claim. LAX is a different story though with this often taking around 45 - 60 mins in part because of the time Air NZ services arrive, and the fact the airport is so busy (and simply inefficient).

If you've done things which will exclude yourself from entering the US (and we've seen plenty of such posts in recent years) then it can certainly be an unpleasant experience. For the 99.9% of people who aren't in this category I'd describe the process as being pretty good, and certainly better than many other countries. Even LAX is a superior experience to most UK airports or EU entry points.

Same experience at HNL. CBP staff smiling and cracking jokes. Not what I expected.

Some people seem to think it's hip to jump on the American bashing bandwagon, despite never having been there.

Any place you go is going to deliver an experience based on the people you meet and I have found the Americans I've dealt with to be almost excessively friendly and generous. Mind you, I go there for either conferences and meetings with like minded people (software developers) or holidays with like minded people (skiing, beaches, golf) so am unlikely to run into too many antagonising types.

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#1992931 10-Apr-2018 19:16

kryptonjohn:

Some people seem to think it's hip to jump on the American bashing bandwagon, despite never having been there.

This isn't about "bashing" Americans. It's about the incredible arrogance and overreach of their rulers.

Diddums the rest of the world sees this and is orienting towards Asia and Europe.

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#1992932 10-Apr-2018 19:16

MichaelNZ:

Wow, "profiling". How convenient for the powers that be.

Profiling forms the basis of border security in every country in the world and is perfectly normal.

As a NZ citizen you're profiled entering NZ regardless of whether you even realise it or not. At a very basic level decisions about whether your bags will be xrayed or not occur because of profiling. It is not a random process.

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#1992937 10-Apr-2018 19:24

sbiddle:

Profiling forms the basis of border security in every country in the world and is perfectly normal.

In the last year I was both pulled aside for a full body scan (I had a bottle of water with me) at one Australian airport and let past aviation security (into the transit area) at another.

At this point I am putting 50/50 odds on the Philippines over the next 30 years. Our children (should it happen) will be eligible for dual citizenship and if things go favorably, this could be quite useful.

I can't say I have favourable odds on the United States over the same timeframe.

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#1993018 10-Apr-2018 21:41

MichaelNZ:

sbiddle:

Profiling forms the basis of border security in every country in the world and is perfectly normal.

In the last year I was both pulled aside for a full body scan (I had a bottle of water with me) at one Australian airport and let past aviation security (into the transit area) at another.

At this point I am putting 50/50 odds on the Philippines over the next 30 years. Our children (should it happen) will be eligible for dual citizenship and if things go favorably, this could be quite useful.

I can't say I have favourable odds on the United States over the same timeframe.

Odds on what?

https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/philippines

I wouldn't let my family get within a thousand miles of the Philippines.

kryptonjohn

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#1993019 10-Apr-2018 21:45

MichaelNZ:

kryptonjohn:

Some people seem to think it's hip to jump on the American bashing bandwagon, despite never having been there.

This isn't about "bashing" Americans. It's about the incredible arrogance and overreach of their rulers.

Diddums the rest of the world sees this and is orienting towards Asia and Europe.

The US currently has an isolationist idiot as a president but this will pass eventually. In the mean time there's plenty to worry about in the EU when you consider the basket case economies, unemployment and debt of the PIIGS countries, the immigration issues facing all of the countries, and the uncomfortable proximity to Putin's sabre rattling.

MichaelNZ

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#1994158 11-Apr-2018 10:23

kryptonjohn:

Odds on what?

https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/philippines

I wouldn't let my family get within a thousand miles of the Philippines.

I have read that link and it is sort of true, in a borderline-rhetoric way. But it lacks situational and contextual information. I was in Mindanao (Davao City) and it was one of the safer areas of the country. 250km away (In Philippines terms this is further than it sounds to us in NZ) there was a war going on.

Here is my take - from 1st hand experience of the place - of the greatest risks for foreigners: (noting the article you linked is pitched to them) -

1. Anything to do with roads - driving on them, being a passenger in a vehicle, or crossing the road.

2= Earthquakes and building fires

2= Being robbed

And a long way behind -

Terrorist attack.

The #1 piece of advice I would offer for someone viisting the Philippines is either know people there or make it a priority. Foreigner (expat) forums, while toxic in a lot of ways, can be a good source for "on the ground" info.

In my case - when I first visited I had an AirBNB lined up for the 1st 2 nights and for the rest of the time, I had my "connections" lined up. When I went back, I stayed with my (now) wife and her family.

As I stated in my other post in the Vodafone forum, connections and who you know is very important there. In my case, my sister in law is a Police officer and Brother in law is in the Army. What better source of info? When I went into the local town centre, her fellow Police officers knew me. I even discovered the meaning of the Filipino gossip mill when I was in the city one day and news of where I was got home before I did, via her fellow Police officer. Of course there was nothing amiss - this is just how the society works. Doubly so if you are a whitey you stick out.

New Zealand is undoubtedly safer but the biggest reasons again have nothing to do with terrorism. Road rules and vehicle safety rules are enforced and building codes are higher. In NZ you generally don't have to watch your step while walking along the path to avoid tripping over something.

On the flipside, we still have a lot of growing issues in our midst and one of the biggest is meth. While I do not propose in this post an answer for dealing with this problem, it should be noted the stakes are lower here and the criminal trajectory is going the wrong way. New Zealand has a serious problem in this area.

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#1994207 11-Apr-2018 11:38

It's a weird idea for US immigration to look at people's social media, when it's possible to have multiple profiles on most platforms and not compulsory to have social media at all.

I generally think it poor practice for government to require people to use computers to access govt services e.g. education.

Mike

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