Anyone planning to enter the United States with an H1B visa through Newark airport needs to rethink that decision. Within the last two weeks, CBP officials there have been routinely stopping and turning around valid H1B nonimmigrants. Not all, by any means, but many. The stated grounds for their refusals are bizarre, to say the least. For example, in one case, they said that the individual's H petition was invalid because the job involved work for a state agency. "Only US citizens and green card holders can work for state agencies" claimed the CBP supervisor. This is, of course, utter nonsense.

Whether entering at Newark or any other airport, nonimmigrants should always answer all questions fully and truthfully. Never try to embellish the facts in the hope that you will be admitted more easily. If you are put into secondary inspection, do not agree to sign any statement that contains falsehoods. At Newark, entering nonimmigrants have been physically coerced into signing statements that contain false admissions of wrongdoing. While being in the custody of the CBP can be intimidating, you must hold fast to the truth and refuse to admit to anything that is not true - no matter how they try to coerce you. Signing such a false statement will only make things worse.

The actions of the rogue agents at Newark are hardly typical of CBP officers elsewhere. Formal ethics complaints have already been filed against them with CBP, DHS, and the Department of Justice. Still, CBP appears reluctant to take immediate action to stop them.

Most likely, the result of CBP's unwillingness to rein in these rogue officials will be the filing of civil rights actions ("Bivens suits") against the specific officials involved. This will force them to defend their actions in federal court under penalty of suffering personal liability for what they did. I very strongly suspect that when the first action is filed, this practice will stop immediately. In the interim, if you were planning to return to the US via Newark, make other plans.