With increasing digitalization of our lives and businesses, privacy concerns from border searches of phones, laptops and tables are a growing concern for professionals, executives, and frequent international travelers. U.S....more
Employers should be mindful of four critical immigration developments that have recently taken place and could impact your workplace. Here is the latest update from our Immigration Team....more
International travel may pose serious data security risks – especially for your foreign national workers carrying sensitive, proprietary, or regulated information. Travelers must be aware of potential border inspections,...more
Cell phone and laptop searches do happen but they are relatively rare. Although the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures is drastically reduced at a port of entry, as are expectations of...more
U.S. law has long provided a border search exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant or probable cause requirement, allowing federal agents to search people, and their electronic devices, at border crossings without a warrant...more
As we wrote in a note back in December 2020, the border search exception to the Fourth Amendment is a powerful investigative tool relied on by law enforcement to gather critical physical and digital evidence because it allows...more
For almost nine years, Haitao Xiang, a Chinese national and U.S. resident, had worked for Monsanto, Co in St. Louis as a research application engineer specializing in hyperspectral imaging technology. As with most jobs of...more
In a closely watched decision, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit confirmed the government’s expansive authority to search cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices at the border. On February 9, 2021, the...more
A new decision from the First Circuit upholding the federal government’s authority to search the electronic devices of anyone entering the United States — in some instances without a warrant, probable cause, or even...more
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Justice has brought an increasing number of cases aimed at combating economic espionage as part of its China Initiative. This effort has included cases against scientific researchers...more
In recent years, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought an increasing number of cases aimed at combating economic espionage as part of its China Initiative. This effort has included cases against scientific...more
Last week, in a historic decision on travelers’ rights to privacy at the U.S. border, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston ruled that suspicionless searches at U.S. ports of entry (airports and border crossings)...more
U.S. Customs searches have become increasingly invasive over the years. Pursuant to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operates under the “broad search exception”, which...more
International travelers from and to the United States may increasingly encounter an inspection of personal electronic devices conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers. The selection may be for a...more
On January 4, 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued Directive 3340-049A, governing border searches of electronic devices. CBP’s new directive updates and provides several improvements over the agency’s initial...more
Best Practices for Managing U.S. Border Searches of Electronic Devices - Effective October 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration & Customs...more
As mentioned in a prior blog post, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can conduct searches of individuals departing the United States, a fact that many are not aware of. In fact, the rule that failure to declare...more
The United States government has reported that border searches of electronic devices in the U.S. increased from 4,764 in 2015 to 23,877 in 2016. Because electronic devices have immense data storage capacity and can hold...more
Last year, the Supreme Court in Riley v. California (134 S. Ct. 2473 (2014)) recognized the unique characteristics of laptops and cellphones and held that police generally may not search the cellphone of an individual who has...more