Holidaymakers have been warned to watch their words after two friends were refused entry to the US on security grounds after a tweet. Before his trip, Leigh Van Bryan wrote that he was going to “destroy America”. He insisted he was referring to simply having a good time – but was sent home.
Trade association Abta told the BBC that the case highlighted that holidaymakers should never do anything to raise “concern or suspicion in any way”.
BBC News – Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US
And this, right here, is pretty much the reason why I don’t even bother requesting a visa to visit the US. I am already one of those “undesirable” third worlders that cannot visit without a complicated process of applying for a visa at the US embassy, proving my worth, proving I am not planning to become an “illegal immigrant”, etc. It fills me with dread to think that some employee could google me, find whatever I write and deem it “dangerous” after I have bothered following this already lengthy and annoying process. And I do not particularly trust embassy employees to be “fair” or even “informed” about whatever they find about visa applicants. Oh and if I did apply for a visa and I was deemed “undesirable”, I’d never recover the money paid for it, as one has to pay in advance and the money is non refundable if you are rejected. So, there is a huge ocean between me and the US, and chances are it’ll remain that way for a good while.
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.