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US Blocks Entry For German Black Hat Presenter
bushwhacker2000 alerts us to the dilemma of Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher who has been a fixture at the annual Black Hat security conference. Dullien was denied entry into the US on his way to this year's conference. Dullien, a German reverse-engineering expert known in hacker circles as "Halvar Flake," said he was blocked from entering the US on the technicality that he had (years ago) signed a contract with Black Hat as an individual, not as his company. Customs agents said he would need an H1-B visa to perform the contracted two days of training at Black Hat, and put him on the next plane back to Germany.
Halvar was wrong for not having the correct visa. That being said, the government should probably spend their money going after the millions of people who come in illegally through the Mexican border, with the intent to stay a lot longer than a week, instead of a single German guy doing a little work and attending a conference. Not to mention, it is quite possible that terrorists are crossing the Mexican border to get in, now that we have 'no-fly lists' and 'watch lists'.
A lot of comments saying that the US is not a free country - So "free" countries have to let anybody cross their borders ? There are rules governing entry for work, vacation, etc. Every single country in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and every other place I have ever been has the same requirements or much more so. If you want to visit the US, follow the rules, or don't bother coming - I would expect no different treatment in any other country that has the sense to control its borders....