Whenever there is an attack, like the San Bernardino shootings, many take the view that the federal government didn’t do enough to protect us. The government’s successes are rarely publicized, but the failures always are. We should always evaluate and seek to improve. Nobody wants to go to a movie theater or rock concert, and find themselves in a war zone. America was founded on religious tolerance and civil liberties. That kind of violence isn’t supposed to happen here. But the past decade has shown us that nobody is immune from the violence radical Islam is bringing to the world. As facts of the San Bernardino shootings starting coming out, the media found that two of the shooters, Sayed Farook and Tahsfeen Malik, discussed their jihadi intentions on social media before killing 14 and wounding 22 in San Bernardino, California. To make matters worse these conversations occurred while USCIS was evaluating Sayed Farook’s petition to allow his fiance acute;, Tashfeen Malik, into the U.S. This is fiance acute;e petition (K-1)is where Sayed Farook, a U.S. citizen, petitioned the U.S. government to allow his foreign national fiance acute; to enter the U.S. so they can get married within 90 days of her legal entry. The fiance acute;e visa process is now being reviewed by immigration officials in light of their failure to disocver that Tashfeen Malik was a terrorist sympathizer and ultimately became a terrorist. However, if you want to learn more about the fiance process you can read my article, What do I need to know about my fiance acute; visa?USCIS will be reviewing your social media!
Despite that social media posts between the two were private, lawmakers have been up in arms about how this terrorist was able to enter the U.S. and not raise any flags. The focus at the moment appears to be social media. This couple exchanged private messages about their jihadi intentions. Despite the fact that these were not public postings and not available for immigration officials, or any members of the public, to review it is safe assumption that social media will be reviewed in more detail by immigration officials in the future.
7 steps to prevent social media from destroying your immigration petition.
We wrote this article to help you through your immigration process. We don’t want unforced errors to use a sports analogy. There are things you can do today before your file your immigration petition that can avoid any possible negative effects of social media on your petition. We recommend the following:
- Audit your social media posts: Take a look at all of your content on all of your social media. Remove photos or any association of alcohol, drugs, or violence. Every petition has their own specific requirements, but in every one you must show that you are a good moral person. If you are not sure, just delete the post. Don’t take any chances. Let me give you an example. If you are petitioning for your wife or fiance acute;, but you have a lot of female friends on social media. Be careful that none of the posts suggest anything other than a casual and friendly relationship. Immigration officials could review it and conclude that you are lying about your relationship to your wife or beneficiary based on your relationship with other woman.
- Suspend Social Media Use: The best way to prevent being misrepresented in the social media is to not use it, especially during the review process. I understand that may not be possible for everyone.
- Be Accurate: If you must post, make sure that what you are posting accurate and complete information. Always assume that the police or an immigration official is reading your post. That will get you into the right mindset. Let me give you an example from an accident case where the person suing was trying to show the seriousness of his injuries. He posted that he had a great time at the Tough Mudder (triathlon competition). What does that mean? Was he a competitor? Was he an observer? Be specific. He should have said I had a great time watching the Tough Mudder.
- Limit Posts: Don’t actively post, instead observe your network and don’t post about yourself. Never publicly discuss the particulars of your case. Never discuss anything your attorney has told you because that could destroy the privileged nature of the communication.
- Who are you Friends: Never accept friend requests from someone you don’t personally know. That really friendly person asking you to reveal your personal information may be an immigration official searching for information to use against you. You never know.
- Become Super Private: Most social network sites offer privacy settings to protect personal information. Use them! Make sure that the general public cannot access your pictures, status posts, updates, etc. without being someone that you actually know. Try to limit who can tag you in pictures or posts. The more secure you can make your personal information, the less of a chance it is to fall into the hands of someone you don’t know.
- Is Anything still Private? Privacy settings may not be enough to protect your information. In litigation, attorneys are regularly requesting and getting copies of social network pages. Immigration officials may request it in the future. Just keep in mind that anything you post may one day be reviewed by an immigration official.
Hiring an Immigration Attorney will increase your chance of getting approved.
Hire a qualified immigration attorney. Someone who is a part of American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Someone who is an author and speaker. Someone how speaks your language. Someone you feel comfortable handling a very sensitive part of your life. You have to trust your attorney. A good immigration attorney will educate you about the immigration process. They will give you lots of guidance at every stage. They will insist on taking steps to protect you, like criminal background checks or FOIA requests from immigration. Your attorney’s role is to get as much information as possible, review it, fix any problems, that way most hurdles will be caught and fixed before any application is filed with immigration. If you are ready to talk to us, you can
- Call 888-695-6169 and speak to our knowledgeable staff,
