American Over reaction to "foreigners"

[Danjanou]

Scott,

It's all perception. Family and friends outside of Toronto we're calling to make sure we (wife and I) were ok. Funny I was actually involved with working with some SARS victims through my work, albeit at arms length, and because I was being briefed on the real situation as opposed to the rumour mill I wasn't really concerned.

 

[Scott]

That makes all the difference in the world, perception, I mean.

 

[muskrat89]

I will try and confirm, but now it is coming out that all of these guys were travelling on expired visas, but were let go anyway (so as not to cause an "incident")    :

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I will try and confirm, but now it is coming out that all of these guys were travelling on expired visas, but were let go anyway (so as not to cause an "incident")    :

If you were a terrorist bent on doing dry runs on aircraft - would you draw attention to yourself with en expired visa or by travelling in large groups and acting quote "weird" unquote?

Seems like much ado about nothing to me, but who knows.

 

[muskrat89]

My point is with all of the "re-vamped" security measures, post-9/11 ... nobody found with an expired Visa should just be "let go", whether they were acting weird or not

 

[Michael Dorosh]

My point is with all of the "re-vamped" security measures, post-9/11 ... nobody found with an expired Visa should just be "let go", whether they were acting weird or not

Check the article at snopes.com - an expired visa is nothing unusual.   The press simply ran with this detail not knowing its importance.


                              Much has been made of the discovery that the Syrian musicians were supposedly
                              traveling on "expired visas." This claim stems from a misunderstanding of what
                              the expiry date on a U.S. visa signifies.

                              Once the foreign traveler is in the U.S., the expiry date of his visa becomes
                              unimportant â ” all that matters is the exit date listed on that person's I-94, a card
                              he carries with his passport while in the U.S. While it is true that an expired visa
                              cannot be used to re-enter the U.S. (its holder must reapply or seek an
                              extension), there is nothing wrong in and of itself with being in the U.S. past the
                              expiry date listed on one's visa.