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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

226 points proberts | 2 comments | 05 Dec 25 16:04 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

As usual, there are countless immigration topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with. Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll do the same in my answers!

Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.

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miotintherain ◴[05 Dec 25 16:44 UTC] No.46163747[source]▶
Hi Peter, thanks for the AMA!

I work for an American company and I am based in Europe. I visit the US for work every now and then. I heard a lot of horror stories regarding border entries. If I am ever in a situation where the border police asks for access to my personal phone and pin code, what are my options? Can I refuse and what happens then?

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1. monerozcash ◴[05 Dec 25 17:46 UTC] No.46164632[source]▶
I think this EFF document probably provides a more comprehensive answer than what can be provided in a HN comment https://www.eff.org/files/2017/03/10/digital-privacy-border-...

Peter might have good insights on whether the relevant case law has changed since 2017 though.

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2. lcc ◴[05 Dec 25 18:21 UTC] No.46165123[source]▶
The only relevant part from that document is this line from page 33: "Foreign visitors have the fewest rights... if a foreign visitor refuses a border agent’s demand to unlock their digital device, provide the device password, or provide social media information, and the agent responds by denying entry, the foreign visitor may have little legal recourse."