US immigration with history of LEGAL sex work in home country

In My Humble Opinion
1

Disclaimer: This question does not pertain to me or anyone I know. I am NOT condoning or encouraging prostitution, illegal or otherwise. Just genuinely curious what would happen because I sometimes think of random questions like this. :slight_smile:

Would previous employment as a legal sex worker be grounds for inadmission to the United States for immigration purposes?

To clarify, this is NOT concerning someone who worked illegally in the sex industry - it’s pretty obvious that falls under criminal activity and there’s no way such a person would be allowed to migrate to the U.S. unless they managed to get a refugee visa in a case of being a victim of sex trafficking or something like that. I’m talking about a prospective migrant who comes from a country where prostitution is legal and regulated (eg Germany, Netherlands, Australia, etc.) and they were employed legally as a sex worker in that country.

Obviously, they would have to solemnly swear or prove they are not going to do the same in the U.S. (except perhaps if they are moving to a place in Nevada where prostitution is legal?), so let’s say this hypothetical person does have other qualifications and a job offer in a field that is legal in the U.S. and otherwise meets all other qualifications for immigration. Could they be turned down for their prior employment in the sex industry, even if this was legal in their home country? Has this situation ever come up? Is there a statute of limitations on this - e.g. if their employment in the sex industry was many years ago and they have no intention of returning to it?

And related question: would a job offer from a legal brothel in Nevada be acceptable for immigration for employment purposes?

Any immigration lawyers or people who work for USCIS around to give an answer or educated opinion on what might be a likely result if such a situation were ever to come up?

2

I can’t speak to the rest, but probably the brothel would have to show there were no qualified American workers passed over.

The anti-immigration gang would complain about worldwide competition and lowered wages anyway, whilst the pro-immigration gang would explain these were jobs no American was willing to do.

3

Little known fact, the INA 1996 was passed by the Congress to ensure that no American prostitutes were ever menaced by unfair foreign competition.

4

One complicating factor is that I believe the women at the Nevada brothels aren’t technically employees, but are independent contractors. (Although the government has recently been cracking down on such arrangements in other industries, so I don’t know if that’s still universally the case). It certainly is possible to immigrate with the intention of starting a new business, but that’s a much harder hurtle than if you have a job offer from an existing business.

ETA: Of course, from a practical point of view, I believe that people hiring independent contractors still don’t have to verify immigration status like they would for an employee, so someone could probably fly in on a tourist visa and get away with working a few shifts without anyone being the wiser.

5

I think opening a legal brothel would qualify an immigrant for admission. Current law allows people to apply for a visa if they’re coming to America to start a business in a rural area that employs at least ten people.