Anka Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Hello fellows, I am Canadian citizen. I have been planning to apply for internship opportunities in US. I have been hearing a lot that border officials are targeting non-white people and denying entry for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, I also belongs to minority ethnic/religious group and I am scared to apply to US. I always think that border officials will question me for taking job (internship) from 'Americans'. This happened recently with someone who applied for volunteer position in US. It was in news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geologyninja13 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Anka, I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this kind of crap! Ugh. Please understand that although certain politicians may run their mouths and certain border officials might feel empowered to overstep their bounds, there is a whole academic community in the USA that can't wait to meet you and see what you can do! Professionals, students, and professors alike are extremely worried about what Trump's rhetoric could do to stop talented people from doing research in the US, and I know a lot of us are bringing it up as a cause in the upcoming "Marches for Science". For every bad interaction that makes the news, there are scores of reassuringly boring interactions that nobody tweets about. I can't put myself in your shoes and I know that the current political climate can be justifiably disconcerting for non-white people, but I would hope that it wouldn't completely discourage you from applying to internships in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzylogician Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Well, unless my H1B extension petition can be submitted before the end of the week, Premium Processing is being suspended next week and that means I won't be able to travel out of the States at least until October, and most likely until December/January. I've already turned down one invitation to speak at a panel in Europe because I can't be sure I'll be able to travel then. I am not applying to any summer or fall conferences more generally, for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I know so many people affected The H1-B premium processing being suspended really sucks and will really hurt everyone! When that decision was announced, my school contacted everyone who might be eligible for H1-B and urged them to work with the school's international office to submit the H1-B application ASAP. I hope it works out for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzylogician Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'm actually one of the lucky ones. I'm already on an H1B so while not being able to travel while the extension petition is being process really(!) sucks, it's still much better than if this was a new petition and I were applying while not already working in the States. That would have basically meant I would have no chance of working a job in the States next year, because there would be no way I could get the visa in time to start teaching in the fall semester.* I'm sure that there are people in that situation, and that would be SO much worse. * And given the job application cycle in my field, that would be true every year that PP is not available! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Glad to hear that things are not in the worst possible case for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelaide9216 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) On 21 mars 2017 at 8:21 PM, Anka said: Hello fellows, I am Canadian citizen. I have been planning to apply for internship opportunities in US. I have been hearing a lot that border officials are targeting non-white people and denying entry for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, I also belongs to minority ethnic/religious group and I am scared to apply to US. I always think that border officials will question me for taking job (internship) from 'Americans'. This happened recently with someone who applied for volunteer position in US. It was in news. I am also Non-White and am hesitating to apply to any US scholarships precisely because of what you just described. I feel exactly like you do. I live in Quebec and there were a couple of cases like the one you've just described that got media coverage. And these people were Canadien citizens just like I am... Edited April 12, 2017 by Adelaide9216 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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