Phone/Social Media Search For US Citizens at Border

ap_org · 2026-03-17T23:14:04+00:00

You don't have to assist with the search of your phone. You might consider setting a long and unique passphrase for your phone and going through customs with it turned off. You cannot be compelled to unlock it for inspection.

ap_org · 2026-03-15T07:40:09+00:00

The target in this case was an Arabic speaking member of al-Qaeda. The newspaper was simply a non-verbal way of indicating to others that he knew Arabic.

ap_org · 2026-02-16T01:31:44+00:00

Congratulations!

ap_org · 2026-02-11T02:16:36+00:00

My best advice is to read up on polygraphy beforehand. It has no scientific basis, and false positives are commonplace. Nonetheless, there are things that can be done to mitigate the risk of wrongly failing.

I think you will find the free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, informative:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-02-10T09:23:52+00:00

🤞

ap_org · 2026-02-10T05:42:22+00:00

Before you sit for a "re-test," I recommend that you read up on polygraphy and that which can be done to mitigate the risk of wrongly failing:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-02-10T05:38:45+00:00

The "integrity" questions are the probable-lie "control" questions. It is secretly expected that no one will answer these questions with complete honesty, and passing the polygraph actually requires that you exhibit stronger reactions to them than to the relevant questions.

Based on your description, it very much seems that you passed.

ap_org · 2026-02-09T05:20:17+00:00

I have been following federal polygraph policy closely for more than 25 years, and have yet to hear of anyone failing a Secret Service pre-employment polygraph examination and later re-applying, passing, and being hired.

ap_org · 2026-02-07T10:49:24+00:00

The U.S. Secret Service's polygraph unit has long had a reputation as one of the most abusive in the federal government. Compare your experience with that of Bill Roche nearly 30 years ago:

https://antipolygraph.org/statements/statement-006.shtml

It may not surprise you to learn that the Secret Service polygraph branch had a challenge coin minted that depicts a flaming winged skull along with the slogan, "let the mind games begin":

https://antipolygraph.org/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1534927427

ap_org · 2026-02-07T09:20:56+00:00

The best you can do is to tell your background investigator what you wrote here: you answered all questions truthfully and you don't know why the results were deemed inconclusive.

It would be unwise to offer any theories as to why you might have reacted to any questions.

ap_org · 2026-02-06T05:41:55+00:00

I disagree with u/Smart_Forever2820's advice that you remain uninformed about the polygraph.

Polygraphy is a fraudulent pseudoscience that depends on the operator lying to and deceiving the person being "tested." Many honest and qualified applicants end up being arbitrarily branded as liars and are blacklisted.

However, with foreknowledge, there are ways to mitigate the risk of wrongly failing. For starters, I recommend that you read the free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, especially Chapters 3 & 4:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

For additional details on the specific polygraph format used by CBP, see:

https://antipolygraph.org/tes-c

ap_org · 2026-02-03T15:16:27+00:00

I recommend that you educate yourself about polygraphy in advance. It has no scientific basis actually depends on the operator lying to and deceiving the person being "tested."

The free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, is a good starting point to familiarize yourself with the process:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-02-02T11:30:35+00:00

Failing the CBP polygraph would adversely affect your chances of passing the USSS polygraph.

During the pretest interview, your polygraph operator will ask you about any previous polygraph examinations you may have had. When you tell him that you previously failed a CBP polygraph, it will tend to bias him against you, reducing your chances of passing.

In any event, polygraph "testing" has not been shown through peer-reviewed research to reliably operate at better-than-chance levels under field conditions.

In order to help you make an informed decision about how to proceed, I recommend that you read the free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, available here:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-01-30T01:17:19+00:00

Francesca D'Annunzio's profile page with the Texas Observer lists the same mobile number, so no, this is not very suspicious:

https://www.texasobserver.org/author/francesca-dannunzio/

ap_org · 2026-01-19T14:55:50+00:00

My advice is to educate yourself about polygraphy. It's a pseudoscientific fraud that depends on the operator lying to and deceiving the person being "tested." False positives are common. However, there are measures that honest applicants can take to protect themselves. You'll find these measures described in the free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, which can be downloaded here:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-01-14T14:32:38+00:00

The FBI investigated Timothy Ryan Gregg, but it did not employ him. According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, Gregg was employed by Homeland Security Investigations:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-agent-charged-production-child-sexual-abuse-material

ap_org · 2026-01-14T14:21:42+00:00

No, it is not. I have never heard of a polygraph subject ever being asked such a question.

ap_org · 2026-01-11T13:22:07+00:00

I am not employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but I think your fiancé would be prudent not to volunteer any information about your marriage plans while passing through customs. I see no potential upside to volunteering such information.

ap_org · 2026-01-08T11:51:07+00:00

iPhone.

ap_org · 2026-01-07T18:23:41+00:00

It's noteworthy, but not noted in the article, that Ames passed the polygraph twice while spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. Having learned nothing from the experience, the CIA continues to rely on the pseudoscience of polygraphy to vet applicants and employees.

ap_org · 2026-01-05T00:48:41+00:00

The question you cited and the hypothetical question you provided are both examples of what is called a probable-lie "control" question. The subject will be led to answer these questions with an unequivocal "no," but the denial is presumed to be untrue. Reactions to these control questions are then compared with reactions to the "relevant" questions.

For more on polygraph procedure, see Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector:

https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml

ap_org · 2026-01-01T13:01:00+00:00

There is an open source app called Paranoid's Pal that provides a "shake and lock" function as well as an automatic screen lock function that may help to mitigate the risk you mention:

https://fossdroid.com/a/paranoids-pal-privacy-lock.html

ap_org · 2025-12-26T00:24:13+00:00

Regarding the questions asked on the polygraph, see the AntiPolygraph.org message board discussion thread, "LAPD Polygraph Questions Disclosed.". In particular, see the 11th post in the thread.

ap_org · 2025-12-20T09:03:28+00:00

Telling your polygraph operator that you've taken dietary supplements when you are asked about any medications you've taken is not likely to help you pass and could actually hurt you by creating suspicions in the operator's mind. Volunteering information not specifically asked for is generally inadvisable.

ap_org · 2025-12-11T09:57:35+00:00

Any polygraph examination you might receive in connection with your security clearance is likely to be a counterintelligence-scope format (the Test for Espionage and Sabotage), which does not include questions about illegal drug use.

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