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In August 2019, I attempted to enter the US from the UK (I am a UK citizen) and was swiftly denied admission after the border control officers discovered that I had previously worked as a prostitute in my home country. My photo and fingerprints were taken and the date and airport at which I was denied entry was recorded in my passport (which I have since replaced).

I understand that gaining entry into the US in the future will be extremely difficult given my poor record. I’ve made peace with this. My issue is whether or not this will impact my travel to other countries. I know that Australia, Canada and New Zealand share biometric information concerning travellers with the US, so I’ve ruled those countries out.

Are there any other nations which would be able to see my record of deportation at the border through scanning my passport? If no, then I feel I could get away with simply not mentioning it as most of the countries I want to visit don’t explicitly ask tourists to disclose any prior deportations (other than ones which occur at the country in question). If I were to visit Japan for example, would they be privy to my mishap in the US through scanning my passport chip? What information does scanning a passport pull up? Which nations (other than those mentioned) share biometric information with the US?

Thanks for anyone who knows the answer to this question. Just want to ascertain just how thoroughly screwed I am.

wowowowow
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1 Answers1

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It seems safe to assume that any country which can access the information about US entry refusals and cares about them when making its own entry decisions would also inquire about entry refusals as part of their paperwork. This is because on the one hand, this gives the applicant an opportunity to lie; and on the other hand, an opportunity to explain what happened. Thus, for any country which does not ask about entry refusals, don't worry.

When it comes to countries who do ask, the standard advice here is to never lie on the forms. It is not that unusual for a person to have been refused entry in the past, and still be allowed to enter. Keep in mind that in general, being refused entry means "We are not convinced that you meet our entry criteria.", not "We are convinced that you are a bad person." However, if you do get asked about previous entry refusals, do expect the follow-up question "Why did they refuse entry?". The only thing you did wrong was not knowing about sex work being grounds for inadmissibility to the US. Thus, I would not expect much troubles with any reasonably enlightened country.

To summarize, the only countries to avoid are those with regressive attitudes about sex work which also ask about past entry refusals.

Addendum: As TooTea stresses in the comments, you were refused entry. As far as bad travel history is concerned, this is the least bad case. You haven't actually violated immigration rules, you just didn't get in. A deportation is more severe.

Arno
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