Work trip to USA

[Wonderbug81]

I'm in a senior role and there's talk of a work trip to US this year. For context I've been to the US multiple times and even lived in NYC for a year a long time ago.

However I'm British Asian and I don't want to go - it's a very different place to the one I lived in.

At the moment it's not a firmed up plan but we'll be going to number of places (not just the more left wing cities) and I want to be ready to discuss it when the time comes.

I wouldn't want to go to the US under the current regime for a whole range of reasons. Apart from anything else, they're executing their own citizens in the streets and civil unrest could errupt at any time.

But re ICE, do you really believe that they're only arresting illegal immigrants? Have you not been following what's happening, or are you in denial?

Yes, because misleading immigration is never going to go wrong is it! It’s perfectly fine to enter on an ESTA and say you are going to meetings, conferences or even customer visits. I’ve done it countless times since leaving the US and handing back my green card. In the current climate the last thing I’d be doing is lying to US immigration however…

Didn't Elon Musk overstay a visa once? If they could deport him it would do everyone a favour.

Well firstly, the conversation has moved on since I first posted. The case being discussed was first reported yesterday and as I've pointed out suggests possible overzealous treatment by the authorities of any foreigner (let alone numerous cases against people of colour). So yes I'm concerned as a foreigner and a POC.

As I've also said numerous times in my posts here I am not just worried about ICE, I'm worried about the broader hostility towards people me in a Trump voting state. When I travel somewhere with work or pleasure I don't want to be feel unsafe.

@Wonderbug81- reading this thread tonight and it's crystal clear that you don't want to go on this work trip. So just tell your employer you don't want to go. End of.

Plenty of people in companies I've worked for say no to business trips - I've done it myself for India recently. Unless you're in a sales position or a role where regular international travel is in the job description, I doubt it's going to be detrimental to your career.

No need to prolong this thread trying to convince people with a different opinion that they're wrong

I’m re-asking, as I’m interested in, but feel the thread has gone on long enough now!

And we always did the opposite, for the simple reason that if they think you're working over there, they will have a big problem with that. No kind of work is allowed on an ESTA visa. It's a tourist visa. Unless you were on a different kind of visa that did allow work? As for lying to immigration, you have a hotel booked and a flight back booked in a few days. They have no way of knowing you're visiting a company office instead of the tourist sights.

I'm surprised that admitting you're working over there, while entering on a visa that forbids work, has worked out so well for you. So far, anyway.

I think you’ve misunderstood. An ESTA is not a visa at all - it’s simply a pre-authorisation for visitors for certain countries that are part of the US’s Visa Waiver Programme to enter the country for tourism or business purposes. You either need a ESTA or a visa to enter the US.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html#overview

I reckon I’ve been to the US for work 50 or 60 times since the ESTA was introduced (2007? 2008?) and after I handed back my green card, and I’ve always been honest about the purpose of my trip.

But perhaps I was just lucky 🤣

ESTA is not a visa. It is proof of eligibility to enter as a visitor, either for tourism or legitimate business purposes (not work work…).

It doesn’t guarantee entry and the visitor still has to satisfy the immigration official that they will not engage in activities that are not covered by the visa waiver, and that they will leave within 90 days.

What southern state are you going to? Even among southern states there are vast difference when it comes to diversity, Texas while it has a horrible governor is very diverse with a huge percentage of non- white Texans. Same for Georgia (at least Atlanta area). Mississippi and Alabama not so much. Any large city or university town will be fine though for a POC. Are there hateful people everywhere, yes. Are they the majority? Absolutely not.

There's more to the case, he's been in the US for 20 years, stayed illegally to start with and seems or have been trying to regulate his status but failed and got arrested by ICE but somehow that means you will be arrested from your meetings while on ESTA.

Give it rest, tell your boss you're not going and stop this spiralling on mumsnet.

And FYI ICE did not arrest him randomly on the street like you think, majority of ICE arrests are targeted or people already attending sessions at ICE offices etc.

I live in Chicago and I haven't even seen ICE once so cut this narrative that ICE US going to kidnap you or people in the south will attack you because you don't like Trump. What bullshit, are you planning to go and start political debates with people when you trav to the US for work???? People in the south are actually one of the nicest people in the US.

Once again please make the decision not to come and move on but you seem to thrive on people telling you to be scared 😂

So bemused by people telling me not to respond to replies on a post I started. If you don't like the fact that people are still discussing it, there's an Unwatch button on my first post. There's also a Hide option if you see it under Active topics.

It's also turned into a classic Mumsnet chat where if someone disagrees with you, the tone turns dismissive and/or the ridicule starts.

Just because you haven't seen an ICE agent, issues at immigration, racism etc doesn't mean they don't happen or that someone from a certain background won't feel worried about going somewhere. I posted reputable new sources about the rise in hate crime. I wanted to get opinions from people who have been there or live there as to how worried I should be.