British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

Probably shouldn't tell border patrol you're doing unpaid labor in a country you're visiting. When speaking to authorities it's best to say the absolute minimum required for the encounter.

I've never had anything to do with foreign exchange students, but are they absolutely prohibited from work of any kind?

If there is ambiguity, then we can't have them here.

Basically.

In the US, it's very clear. If they don't have work authorization from USCIS, they shouldn't be doing work. There's some guidelines out there on the internet [1], but the students should be extremely careful; any form of compensation or expectation of future compensation for their work could put them in serious trouble. The University of Michigan has a more fleshed out guideline page for their international students [2].

[1] https://marksgray.com/immigration-blog/can-foreign-nationals...

[2] https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/students/employment-vo...

> but are they absolutely prohibited from work of any kind?

Generally yes.

But you can have on-campus jobs to supplement your income, and there are at least two programs (CPT and OPT) that let you get approval for limited-term employment in your area of study. CPT also requires university approval.

or dont lie, apply for appropriate work permits/visa entries/travel authorizations if you are going to work whether its paid or not.

Statements like these make me happy I live in Europe.

You can get banned from coming to the US if they catch you lying about the reason you're crossing the border. It's a long arduous process and lawyer fees to get the ban overturned. Happened to a Canadian I knew a decade ago when they tried to enter on a tourist visa for business purposes.

I'm sure it's similar in other countries but US has always been very strict given the huge amount of people trying to work there and the very finite supply of work visas.

From my experience you'll also get extra scruntiny if you're traveling solo like this girl. I was secondary screened twice coming for business where they double checked my paperwork and TSA lady in the back asked a bunch of silly questions (like "what is PayPal").

Just some of my personal anecdotes:

I was travelling to Ireland(Dublin) as a tourist and during questioning by a border agent I mentioned that I might check my email (they noticed my laptop), the border agent simply advised me that my visa did not allow work but since I was clearly being transparent about my actions and intentions that there was no reason for them to block me or require me to apply for a working visa, so after what was a friendly chat, I was on my way.

I've also had similar interactions in other European countries such as Germany(Munich) and the UK(London Gatwick) - both of which are particularly thorny about economic migrants posing as other types of visitors or asylum seekers, again no problems and the staff are courteous while conducting their duties professionally.

Meanwhile my last trip to the USA during Trump 1.0 involved the border agent not even speaking to me, but instead holding out his hand for paperwork - so I'd hand him a paper, and if it wasn't the one he wanted, he'd flick it back at me. It's obvious he's just trying to start shit so he can have an excuse to abuse the power granted to him. (LaGuardia Airport).

Both would require university approval. OPT is literally structured as a course at the university.

She was on a tourist visa. She should have gotten a J-1 visa who can do 20 hours/week part time work with some constraints. Some details about this visa: https://yfuusa.org/2024/05/16/j1-student-visa/

It is way harder for an Iranian to travel to Europe as a tourist than for them to travel to USA. Especially if you travel often like once a year.

USA has 10 year tourist visas. Europe gives you the bare minimum to visit every time.

You can also do OPT "post-completion" of your degree - this also gives your (new) employer some time to apply for a longer-term work visa.

And you need to get work authorization (EAD card) for that. It’s not a given

European country really gave me bad taste when it comes to visa experience. Gave me the absolute minimum despite having a good paying job - and even after marrying a EU citizen I still had a hard time.

This is news because this woman happens to be from a developed country and not a developing countries.

Musk is lucky enforcement wasn't as strict back then.

Barter isn’t really “unpaid”, but you also just shouldn’t be working if you don’t have work authorization. Border authorities have the means and motivation to validate any story you have about your stay.

Cannot citizenship be revoked for past violations?

There are acceptable grounds for revocation of naturalization [1], but I'm not sure that having previously violated visa terms necessarily qualifies. The question becomes was he lawfully admitted to permanent residency, and was there a concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation involved in the process. We would need to really see his immigration file and have knowledge of the dates he was in the US, and when he performed work.

[1] https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-l-chapter...

Europe treats tourists from developing countries way worse than US does when you apply even for short term tours with all details. US looks at bigger picture, history if any, financial conditions but Europe literally wants you to have planned down everything to the most relevant detail and will then issue a visa 1 or 2 days longer than the itinerary and ask you to piss off

If you live in Europe you'll need a visa to work in the US. You want to live in the US to not need the visa.

Sure as you might, I assume you're a citizen of the EU. That really just means you're happy you live in an area where you're a citizen with effectively no limit on what you can do in areas where your citizenship is acceptable to do what you want to do.

Don't forget, your country absolutely has their own visa terms, and they absolutely do enforce it.

I'm personally satisfied with my citizenship as well.

Not really. It has only happened a couple times in hundreds of years and was about foreign spys

Well, I live in Europe and work for an American company and I don't need a visa. In general, the USA is a very nice country to visit but for long-term living I prefer the EU.

This has been the case before the current administration. It isn't administration elusive. There is a lack of professionalism by some US border agents.

Are you saying you're in the US working without a visa?

No, I'm in the EU but working for an American company. This is the best arrangement in terms of money and quality of life for me.