How likely is it to get asked about your job in detail by Immigration?
I just read this article, titled A software engineer was detained by U.S. Customs - and given a test to prove he's an engineer.
While the actual situation is slightly different - he tried to enter it with a correct visa but I almost always enter any country with a visa-free tourism requirement - I got shocked to see these things happen at the immigration.
Since filling in "no job" or unemployed" in the occupation field could lead to a higher rate of interrogation, I usualy write myself as a Software Developer. That said, I'm more of a hobby dev than a working guy and I have no official job history or educational attainment to be honest.
In fact I couldn't answer the questions asked in the case, which are the followings:
Write a function to check if a Binary Search Tree is balanced.
What is an abstract class, and why do you need it?
So the immigration officers would likely deny my entry if I were the man. It is too scary to say the least.
Is this kind of things common in passing through the immigration? Is it only in US, only for specific types of visa applicants, or maybe is it more related to which passport a travler has?
Is there anything that I can do to avoid the situation happens, or at least mitigate the possibility, as a traveler (always solo)? Now I wonder it might be better to declare another, more obscure job title such as a tech consultant...
Best Answer
Is this kind of things common in passing through the immigration?
About five years ago I was visiting the US to attend a conference on plasma physics. After stating this, I got a series of gradually more detailed questions until eventually, to my astonishment, the CBP agent asked me, “How do I derive the Debye length in a plasma?”
This is a very hard technical question (unless you already know the answer) that you would be unlucky get in a PhD exam. He didn't Google anything; this wasn't at secondary inspection, that was his instant reply to my statement of purpose of entry.
Was he doing a night school class in plasma physics? Does he spend too much time on Reddit Ask Science? Did he memorise a question for every occupation? Who knows.
That said, this was unusual. 99% of my visits to the USA, as soon as I said I was a researcher, they lost interest in the conversation and stamped me in.
Is there anything that I can do to avoid the situation happens, or at least mitigate the possibility, as a traveler?
Do not assume that the immigration people are clueless. They are certainly allowed to ask probing questions.
(Alternatively, if you are going to lie to immigration in order to gain entry, it might be worth at least studying the basics of your fictional profession.)
Is it [...] only for specific types of visa applicants, or maybe is it more related to which passport a travler has?
I was travelling on a British Citizen passport, under the visa waiver program, which normally is great for entering the US.
Immigration can ask anyone about their situation.
Now I wonder it might be better to declare another, more obscure job title such as a tech consultant...
If you represent yourself as a consultant, that just gives the officer more room to ask questions about what exactly you do, who are your clients, who is your employer, that sort of thing.
Lying to immigration is not a good idea. You are setting yourself up here for a long ban.
Pictures about "How likely is it to get asked about your job in detail by Immigration?"
What kind of questions does immigration ask?
Officers can ask a vast range of questions, but here are some examples:- How, where, and when did you meet your spouse?
- Where did your first date take place?
- How long did were you with your spouse before getting married?
- When and where were you married?
- Did you go on a honeymoon? ...
- What is your spouse's current job?
Why is it hard for immigrants to find jobs?
Immigrants with permanent residence status can face difficulties achieving full employment in the U.S., often due to employers not trusting foreign degree programs. They also struggle to be accepted into licensing programs that are required for certain jobs.What happens after interview immigration?
At the end of your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, the consular officer will inform you whether your visa application is approved or denied. Visa approval - When approved, you will be informed how and when your passport and visa will be returned to you.How long does it take USCIS to make a decision after interview?
Technically, the USCIS has to provide you with a decision on your naturalization application within 120 days of your naturalization interview. In a green card application, the USCIS is supposed to provide you with an official notification of their decision within 30 days of your interview.More answers regarding how likely is it to get asked about your job in detail by Immigration?
Answer 2
Immigration officials sometimes interview people at the border to gauge their reactions. This might happen if they suspect that papers may be forged, or that the traveler is lying. Instead of sending the documents to an expert, they ask a few questions.
- The easiest thing is to ask people for their birthdate and birthplace, while the official has the passport in hand (and the applicant does not).
- There might be small talk about the travel plans. So, you're going to visit London/New York/Tokyo? Which museums are you going to see?
Going into technical stuff seems little different from that. The immigration official doesn't even have to be a software engineer, he or she could simply judge if the traveler is rattled by the question, or able to answer confidently. If they dislike the reaction, the suspect papers get examined more closely.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Anete Lusina, RF._.studio, RF._.studio