There are many security aspects of U.S. immigration that are still in place, even with a more lenient Biden Administration. Security in the immigration realm can loosely be described as U.S.-Mexico border protocols, but it also encompasses things like Biometrics appointments, vetting through the usage of online public information, as well as deportation measures.
While Visa2us deals mainly with green card applicants as well as those pursuing U.S. citizenship via naturalization, we will focus on how different security measures affects immigration applicants in their quest to become legal residents or fully recognized U.S. citizens.
Social Media Vetting
Social media is part of our everyday reality. We create digital versions of ourselves to make more digital connections with others, but we seldom realize where this information can go if it is not managed responsibly. We use Facebook to connect with friends and family members, we use Instagram to post stories of what we are doing in our daily lives, and we use various other networks to establish ourselves professionally and let others in our network know our job titles and the city we are living in.
All of this information can be used by the DHS—if your privacy settings are not up to date, or if you simply display too much of your private life online. The USCIS, which is an agency of Homeland Security, is entitled to search for you online if they are looking for inconsistencies between a green card application and your online profiles. This is one method of “vetting”, or simply performing a background check on someone. While many green card applicants might believe that they will only vetted as they search for permanent employment, vetting also occurs when someone submits an I-485 application.
See our other Visa2us blog to learn more about social media vetting.
Biometrics
Your biometrics appointment is a fingerprint scan that goes to the Department of Homeland Security to verify your identity, and to also to serve as a background check. Biometrics are utilized by the USCIS to see if an individual seeking an immigrant benefit has a criminal record, for example.
Leading up to this year, additional Biometrics appointments have been dropped for H4 dependents (spouses of H1-B holders) as well as L2 dependents (spouses of intra-company transferees).
Requests Made to the IRS
Although less common, the USCIS can determine if one of their applicants has been working illegally in the U.S. through a formal request to the IRS. Both are government agencies, and although the USCIS does not reach out all that often, the two can work together to determine someone’s tax status in the United States as well as their earned income via a 1099 form.
In addition, the DHS also has an employment verification system (E-Verify) that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. To learn more about E-Verify, see our blog on the topic here.
