You may have a Philippine passport that has an American multiple-entry visa that states it is good until 2034, but if you think that comes with Uncle Sam’s firm handshake, wink, and ironclad guarantee, you better think twice and be wary… very wary. Don’t look now, but Uncle Donald’s return to the White House and his tough stance on Immigration policies have produced several horror stories when it comes to the US Immigration treatment of visitors and special visa holders. And it’s become the roll of the dice as to whether you’ll be the next unsuspecting target/victim when you enter the United States, and find your visa inexplicably revoked.

But is there some inner logic behind these reports and incidents? Is it random checking and abusive treatment, plus being detained for several inexplicable hours? Are Filipinos being targeted? Is it time to cancel that trip to the West Coast and forget the Napa Valley Winery experience you booked way in advance, or the bi-annual trek to New York City and its Broadway shows? For that matter, is all of North America now an unfriendly zone, given what happened in Vancouver over the weekend, during the Vancouver Filipino community’s Lapu-Lapu Festival? 

Well, Canada seems to still be a safe zone, as reports have it that the perpetrator in the Audi SUV was acting alone, and has a long history of mental health issues and encounters with the local Vancouver police. So conspiracy theorists speculating about Canucks, and a wave of anti-Filipino sentiment, can lay their theories to rest.

The Trump administration, and his current views on Immigration policy, are genuine though, and may be a cause of worry for Filipinos travelling to the USA. The avowed policy is to get tougher on aliens seeking admission to the United States of America, so that the vetting and screening are done to the maximum degree possible. Is there any truth to the reports of devices being confiscated? Of social media accounts being checked for anti-Trump sentiment and content? And is it true that for the LGBTQ+ community, ‘sex at birth’ should now be consistent and answered truthfully in all Immigration-related documents? 

Official statements from the US Government deny that devices are being confiscated without due cause or that social media accounts are being checked. But yes, the gender policy in the USA has taken a sharp U-turn into conservatism, and trying to be ‘cute’ or ‘playful’ with sex at birth will give Immigration grounds to deny your entry. It’s Male or Female at birth, and no X in the box. 

The practice of birthright citizenship (jus soli) ended by Trump’s Executive Order, and since February 19, there has been no automatic granting of citizenship if the mother is in the USA only on a study visa or as a temporary visitor. The age-old Filipino practice of travelling to the USA when still not ‘showing’, and giving birth there, no longer means automatic US citizenship for the child. That is being appealed as you read this; but for now, the Executive Order stands.

If travelling to, or residing in the USA, on a student visa, be aware that there has been a revocation of visas of international students in more than 32 of the 50 states. These include F-1 and J-1 visa holders studying at Stanford, UCLA, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Cornell University, and Fordham University. Political activism is more often than not the reason for the revocation. And you could see this as part of a larger Immigration crackdown and deportation initiative. 

So yes, reader, the smallest visa violation, even if accidental, can mean you risk arrest at the US border. A Welsh woman in her late twenties was detained for 19 days for crossing from Canada to re-enter the US. There was some defect in the kind of visa she carried, and she had initially been granted US entry as her first port, but apparently, visiting Canada meant she had exceeded her use of the visa and was in violation trying to cross back. The obvious question is why 19 days, and why was she boarded on the plane to take her back to the United Kingdom in chains? Overkill, but it happened. 

So if all your documents are in order, updated, valid with safe allowance, and you’re a regular citizen, I’d say that being Filipino is a fairly safe nationality for entering the USA. It’s not like we’re from Palestine, Iran, or the Ukraine, where political activism is at a high. And last I checked, the Hague is not in the United States.