Could your social media activity
be heard in your immigration case without you even knowing it?
According to recent news from the Guardian, USCIS
has been secretly monitoring the online social media
activity of hundreds of immigrants without them even realizing it.
They then use this information to decide
whether they will approve or deny your immigration case.
But exactly what is USCIS looking for and how much can they really see
and what are they actually going to do with that information?
And what actions should you take to make sure
that you are not accidentally hurting your immigration case?
We're going to answer all of these questions right now.
My name is Moumita
Rahman, and I have been practicing immigration law for the past 13 years.
If you would like our assistance on your case,
give our office a call at 212-248-7907 to find out how we can help.
I am based in New York City, however I work with immigrants
all over the United States.
So why is USCIS collecting
your social media activity and information online?
And how much can they actually see?
According to recent data, USCIS is collecting information to understand
whether there are discrepancies between your information
that you submit on the applications and what they see online— in particular
when it comes to employment history, residential history and marital status.
They are looking for any differences between what you wrote on the forms
that you have provided to them and what they see online.
And here is the troubling part.
All of the information that they find, all of the images, all of the posts,
everything that they find, no matter what it is or whether it is true
or whether it is useful, is immediately saved to your file
and kept for as long as they want.
And we know that USCIS may not just be stopping at what they can find online
because we have been seeing that persons have been receiving notifications
that USCIS has been requesting their activity
and other information that is not publicly available online,
including online search history and what groups they may be a part of.
So not only can they get your information from publicly available accounts
on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn,
but they can also request information from those agencies directly.
And their goal is definitely to find out whether your case is approvable or not.
Not only are they looking for discrepancies in your information,
but they're also looking for information
that may flag you as a potential national security risk,
to see whether you will engage in unauthorized activity,
to see whether you have engaged in unauthorized employment
or whether you have made false statements on your immigration case.
For example, if you are filing for a marriage immigration case,
but your Facebook profile says that you single or shows you
with pictures of somebody other than your spouse, then
that is going to be information that USCIS may use to deny
your marriage case and possibly even accuse you of marriage fraud.
Or if you file an application with the help of your employer
through an employment sponsored green card application, however,
you get tagged in a post where it shows that you're working somewhere
other than that employer, then that could also cast doubt
on whether your employment application is true and correct.
They can also use social media to draw connections
between you and others who might be engaged in immigration fraud
or other suspicious criminal activity that may harm your case as well.
So you want to take those necessary steps to make sure you protect your identity
as well as your information online, and also make sure to not engage in things
that may end up being harmful activities that seem like they're harmless, such
as making a sarcastic joke that can be taken out of context
and potentially misunderstood and used against you.
But before I move on, if you are interested in learning more
about the immigration process and how you can navigate
better through this difficult journey, make sure to subscribe to my channel
right here on YouTube and turn on the notification button
so that you're ready to watch any update that I provide.
So what steps should you take to protect yourself from USCIS using
and harvesting your information online to deny your application?
First, before you even submit anything to immigration, go through yourself online.
For example, you can Google yourself to see what comes up or make sure
you know where your social media accounts are.
See what it says and take small steps such as removing any harmful posts
such as jokes or pictures or endorsements of violent activity, illegal activity,
anything that could be misunderstood or construed or held against you
in any sort of way.
Make sure you're not bragging about anything illicit or illegal as well.
And don't forget that even though marijuana use may be legalized
in many states across the United States, it is still considered to
be a federal offense.
So make sure you remove any pictures
or mentions or anything having to do with marijuana as well.
Remember that good character is a serious requirement for naturalization.
So you want to be very mindful that these posts may not all the impact
your ability to become a green card holder,
but can also affect your ability to become a U.S.
citizen in the future.
Next, update your visibility preferences.
This is the simplest thing that you can do,
so make sure that your profiles are set to private and not public.
However, keep in mind that if you are tagged in certain posts,
those polls may be public as well, even if your posts are not public.
So make sure you check that setting as well.
This is something that should go without saying, but also don't
just accept posts from random people who you do not know.
Oftentimes these friend requests are not from friends.
These could be fake profiles set up by USCIS trying to see if you'll add them
so that they can get into your account and see what you've been posting about.
Next, make sure that any information that you provide on
your applications is 100% consistent with your information online.
This should also include not just whether you're married or in a relationship,
but also where you live, where you have lived,
where you currently work, or have worked in the past.
Also, if you tell immigration that you're not affiliated with certain groups
or political organizations, yet you show up as a member
or a follower of those organizations, that can also open you up to questioning.
Make sure your online profiles show where you currently work and not old,
outdated information so that it's covered with what you submit on your application.
Assume that everything you post is public, even if you think it's private.
Don't post anything that you wouldn't want your mother to hear about next.
Remember that anyone can take screenshots
of what you post, so that's even more reason to be careful
about what you post, even if your profiles are already private.
Avoid posting anything that is too overtly political.
USCIS does use social media to identify potential terrorist threats or threats
to national security, so things that may possibly be associated with radical groups
or radical speech or hate speech can be a red flag in your case.
In fact,
even though we do have freedom of speech in this country until you're a U.S.
citizen, I would actually recommend
that you just avoid posting about controversial topics.
And pay attention to what friends you have online.
If your friends may be involved in activities
or may be associated with groups that may be questionable,
consider unfollowing them until your case is approved.
And don't go completely silent online either.
If you're submitting a marriage based application, if you have no activity
and no proof of your relationship being posted online,
that can be a little bit strange and a red flag for USCIS also.
So go ahead and post pictures of you and your spouse together.
And this should go without saying, but never falsify
any information that you submit to USCIS.
USCIS is going to eventually find out the truth.
So make sure your online activity is straightforward and honest.
There's a lot that I cover, so make sure you leave me comments
with your questions below and I'll do a follow up video answering your questions.
Immigrants can actually have additional responsibilities
once they actually get approved for their green card.
There are certain things that you must do and that you must be knowledgeable about,
and there are certain things that you should not do when you have a green card.
I discussed all of these in this video talking about 16
things that you must know about when you are a green card holder.
I’ll include a link to that video here, click here and I'll see you there.