Even as an American citizen but an Australian resident - these stories make me afraid to travel to the US. Might the border agents find me to be unacceptably foreign?
Be prepared to have all your devices searched too. I'm talking about your photos, your online banking app, your emails, your Whatsapp logs, etc (just happened to an Australian I know) if they suspect you may be violating the terms of your visa. You can decline, but do you really want to cancel your trip, wait 12 hours for the next 15 hour flight back home?
(Edit: this is for non US citizens. US citizens don't need to answer any questions at entry, but be prepared to be taken aside for screening. You'll be asked to unlock your phone most likely, and if you refuse, they will confiscate it, but then you can enter.)
Also be prepared to answer questions about your religion... regardless of if you're a citizen or not. we finally have a religious test to enter the country..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/26/muhamm...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/13/us/citizen-nasa-engineer-detai...
We're pretty boring pakeha, and I doubt we'd have trouble at the border. But... given a few months more until we'd be visiting, we're uncertain enough about what other legal requirements might get rammed through (and the ETSA is already enough of a hassle) that it just doesn't seem worthwhile.
This is just an anecdote, and I'm sure I'm being overly paranoid. But I don't really want to tack on a potentially very stressful end to a holiday. It makes me sad to think of how trivial an inconvenience this is for me, compared to friends I have who are much more strongly affected by the ban.
I don't get this part? Can you clarify what part is a hassle? ESTA just seems great to me: fill a form online and get (most of the time) an "immediate tourist visa".
When you're from a country that isn't in the ESTA program, then it can be a hassle!
You don't really get a visa, but an approval for visa exemption I believe.
However, after checking, it does seem like the site has improved a lot. It's been a while :).
The whole concept goes against the concept of visa-free travel. No matter what they are termed those are effectively – usually automatically processed – visa against the spirit of bilateral visa-free agreements. It used to be that you can turn up at the border to apply for entry there instead of beforehand. Those "travel authorizations" are a step back. Not to mention all the data footprint that this process creates additionally.
As an American with Australian family, they always tell me how much easier dealing with the G is here when they visit and drive their massive rented RV around.
As for the injustices suffered by RV drivers, I cannot comment. Although, I'm sure their road to recognition in our country has been long and pothole-filled.
The risk of death in a vehicle far exceeds that of gun violence. If you're talking about injuries perpetrated by a stranger, that disparity grows more yet.
The lack of healthcare doesn't exist, though you'll certainly have to pay up. But really, 'lack'? If you find yourself injured, you can probably look up and find a billboard for a hospital (see the previous point on how you're likely to get hurt.) And there will almost certainly be first rate care at said hospital.
And most egregiously, 'cancer machines'? Are you referring to the backscatter x-rays, which deliver a smaller dose than a single banana? Or the millimeter wave machines, which operate at low intensity, and actually deliver no dose of ionizing radiation whatsoever, due to operating at a wavelength with photon energies measured in MILLI-eV? Why not plan your travels around local geology and only travel by boat? Because if you think you're sensitive to millimeter waves, you're really going to be upset at the gammas coming from ground sources, as well as the ones hitting you when you're not underneath those final 7km of sweet, sweet radiation-attenuating atmosphere.
There are valid reasons not to travel to the US, even in your own post. Why bury them under such nonsense?
Per the CDC:
* Motor vehicle traffic deaths: 33,804
* Firearm deaths: 33,736
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm
> If you're talking about injuries perpetrated by a stranger, that disparity grows more yet.
I'm not sure where to find this data, but it seems likely to me that most motor vehicle deaths are self-inflicted (if not intentionally). Of course, because motor vehicle deaths are much more often due to accident than intention, I suspect strangers are more commonly involved (the person who shoots you has a good chance of being someone who knows and dislikes you).