I'm from Europe and recently lost my ESTA due to the TSA searching my phone and making me admit I smoked a joint in California (not legal on a state level).
I'm over 50% owner of a C-Corp in Wyoming with a 200k investment and I have another full employment job that would sponsor me.
What visa should I approach? H1B lottery didn't work for the second time.
> making me admit I smoked a joint in California (not legal on a state level)
Wait, so weed is not actually legal in California?
I see big billboards around the valley and SF, advertising gummies as if it is a normal part of life. Is it inadvisable for any visitor to partake? This is useful information. It seems to be so normalised amongst tech folks in California these days that I could well imagine being offered a joint (or similar) if socialising in the evening whilst on a business trip.
Depending on a number of factors, the likely visa options are the E-1 and the O-1 but because of the incident, you likely will need a waiver when you apply for a visa and the waiver process can take anywhere from 3 to 6+ months.
Wow this is super helpful. Very grateful for your time. There's a lot misinformation floating around.
And since I only verbally admitted to the TSA agents smoking a joint in New York and was kind of coerced into it no other way to dispute it then the waiver? I didn't have anything on me nor do I really use marijuana
Yes. Yes, they need cause, but not in the Fourth Amendment definition. The cause is you've requested to enter the US or you've been found hanging round the vicinity of an airport, land border or navigable waterway.
The kindly asked me to hand over my unlocked phone after they asked me to show that I have booked accommodation which I did on a phone. They asked who are these people on emails, then handed the phone back.
They only quickly browsed through my emails though.
My recommendation is that everyone prints on the evidence of the purpose of their trips beforehand: booked hotels and a list of conference they plan to attend (plans may change, however).
In the US the Bill of Rights and most other things only apply to citizens (and maybe lawful residents).
CBP agents have broader authority to conduct searches of non-citizens and their belongings at ports of entry without a warrant, including devices like laptops and phones, to determine admissibility to the United States. Searches of citizens generally require a higher standard of suspicion or a warrant.
In the past, someone has taken a flight between Canada and Mexico while under suspicion of the US authorities, and the plane was forced to land and the person forcefully detained, just because they entered US airspace.
Just losing your ESTA over weed (federally a schedule 1 narcotic) is a fairly small punishment considering the CBP enforces federal law.
It depends what you mean. In the UK our institutions are centuries old. Heck the working class house my grandmother lived in until she died was older than the state of California.
The constitution is only as strong as the institutions that defend it. The U.S. is not there yet but the political nature of the courts and the judiciary are an anathema to a Brit.
I saw that case. But the TSA agents are like ok otherwise we send you home. I'm happy to make a case but I think it's unlikely to be worth the stress and money
I'm from Europe and recently lost my ESTA due to the TSA searching my phone and making me admit I smoked a joint in California (not legal on a state level).
I'm over 50% owner of a C-Corp in Wyoming with a 200k investment and I have another full employment job that would sponsor me.
What visa should I approach? H1B lottery didn't work for the second time.