In What Green-card and Visa Holders Should Know Before Traveling Abroad, Steve recommended that green card and visa holders double-check their immigration documents before they fly. “Make sure everything is in order, their visa hasn’t expired or they don’t have a renewal application pending,” he said. Steve noted additional factors that could raise a traveler’s risk level, pointing to a draft list of 43 countries that could be hit with a new travel ban. Although there’s not a travel ban currently in effect, he advised travelers from the 11 countries in the proposed “red” category to think twice before flying here. These countries include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. He added that typically, visa holders who are denied entry are simply put on the next plane back to their home countries. But some have recently been taken into custody and detained for days or more. “ It’s seemingly a growing problem,” he said, noting that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers can ask travelers to unlock their cell phones, give laptop passwords, or hand over digital cameras. U.S. citizens and green card holders cannot be turned away simply because they refuse, but visa holders can, he said. Steve also noted that during an electronic search, CBP officers often look for material that would suggest a noncitizen is ineligible to enter the United States. “ There’s wide discretion at the border in terms of who to admit to the United States, even if you have a valid visa,” he said. Although travelers asked to undergo further inspection at the airport are not entitled to an attorney, Steve said it is still useful to have an immigration attorney’s contact information on hand. He also suggested that travelers have a friend who can be quickly reached if there’s trouble entering the United States. “So if it looks like you’re going to be questioned by the border people, you can text a friend saying, ‘I’m being pulled into secondary inspection, contact my immigration lawyer,’ ” he said.
