Chez Chesler

There are valid complaints about INS in the piece, but I was particularly struck that the I (Media) Visa involves a test of whether an individual is a journalist. As Lithwick points out,

Reporters must now provide a letter from their employer detailing their assignment and place their hope in the broad discretion afforded immigration authorities. Of course, freelancers just looking for a story without a contract in their pocket are presumably out of luck, too. Unless, of course, they elect to lie and call themselves tourists with super-big cameras.

This reminds me of the Paul Trummel case. One of the reasons stated for his imprisonment was that he was not a "journalist".