The Mexican Juan Francisco had a tourist visa, but on his last visit to the United States, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents found a photograph of him with his coworkers in a restaurant.
“There was a recent photograph with coworkers at a fast food restaurant in Texas,” Juan Francisco told Univision.
The tourist visa does not allow a person to work in the US. and violating said rule can cause problems for him, like Juan Francisco, who now bears the record of having been deported and not having a visa.
“(Working without permission in the US) is a serious offense that is punishable, as in this case, by the detention of the person at the port of entry. Right there they revoke his visa for having violated the terms of the previous entry and he cannot re-enter for five years,” said immigration lawyer José Guerrero.
It should be noted that the same rule applies to foreign students, unless they are in a school process that later allows them to work for a while, as part of the internship program.
The case of Juan Francisco contemplates several aspects that occur in immigration matters, the main one being the fact that with a tourist visa he cannot work in the US.
However, this situation also confirms that CBP agents have discretionary authorization to search the cell phones of foreigners entering through ports of entry, either by land or at airports.
If the person refuses to hand over the cell phone, that can complicate your situation, raising suspicions.
Immigration attorney Mercedes Garcia-French pointed out in a video on Instagram that the agents can check the cell phone and use the information against the traveleras happened with a person who tried to enter the US with a student visa.
“At the time he was trying to enter the United States, the Immigration Department checked his cell phone and, apparently, this person had text messages that established, that showed in a certain way, that this person had some sort of arrangement to work once they arrived in the United States“said the lawyer.
That information was enough for CBP to prevent the person’s entry and revoke the visa.
Keep reading:
· In Texas, soldiers are ordered to push immigrants into the Rio Grande: a mother and her son die
· What is the situation at the border after the end of Title 42? (podcast)
· Arrests at the US-Mexico border reach their lowest level since 2021
