After several incidents in which influencers broke into private homes apparently to investigate H-1B visa abuses, immigration attorneys Rahul Reddy and Emily Brown said H-1B visa holders have the right not to have contact with these so-called influencers. Brown said during a weekly visa discussion that H-1B visa holders who are legally in the United States must know that law enforcement officers, ICE officers and anti-immigration influencers are not the same.A few months ago, Texas-based YouTuber Sara Gonzales conducted her own sting operation when she showed up at an address registered as an H-1B company. She documented that no operations were carried out at these locations and that one particular office address turned out to be a residential address. The YouTuber then walked up to a food truck and called out the H-1B man in the truck, accusing him of working a side job while on H-1B in the United States. With anti-India content gaining traction across all social media platforms, some influencers have started doing the same. YouTuber Tyler Oliveira recently posted a similar video where he goes into the store, interviews the workers there, and more.
5 things H-1B visa holders can do if they are harassed by an influencer
Reddy and Neumann said H-1B visa holders are not responsible for providing their official documents to anyone with influence. Public access documents, LCA documents, are documents for company use and no individual has the right to request these documents from H-1B visa holders.Don’t open the doorNeumann said when H-1Bs are faced with influencers knocking on residential properties, the doors should never have been opened in the first place.ask them to leaveThey should ask such intruders to leave, failing which they will be considered trespassers.No participation, no confrontationRahul Reddy said there is no need to be nice as these influencers are bound to insult the Indian community. It’s best not to participate at all, because if they want to insult H-1B, Green Card, no one can reason with them. “Don’t try to impress them,” Reddy said. Interacting with these camera-toting influencers also becomes a viral source of social media content.Ask for credentialsIf they claim to be a government official, ask to see their ID. If you have ID, take a photo and save it in case you need it in the future.Call the policeLawyers say H-1Bs can seek help from law enforcement if harassment continues and the influencer does not leave the premises.