A virtual reality sex worker claims she was denied entry to the U.S. on the basis of “prostitution,” despite doing online, legal work.
Hex makes a living in virtual reality. She’s an online sex worker, hosting shows and posting photos and videos from social VR platform VRChat to her Fansly account, a subscription site for erotic content. ...
The Sex Workers Project has seen an increase in individuals being stopped at borders because of their online presence, he said, and interrogated about whether they’ve engaged in “prostitution.”
“Even if the person is ultimately allowed into the country, the hours of interrogation by immigration can be scary and humiliating,” Clement said. ...
“Because online sex work almost by definition can't include the sort of physical contact that's a prerequisite for ‘sexual intercourse,’ doing exclusively online sex work, on its own, is unlikely to trigger the visa bar,” Clement said. “However, as a caveat to that, there's nothing legally preventing U.S. immigration authorities or the Department of State, with very little evidence or no evidence at all, from presuming that a person who does online sex work may also do in-person sex work as well, leading to a denial of a visa to the United States for ‘engaging in prostitution.’” For tourist visas, the government can deny them for any reason at all, or even without a reason, Clement said. ...
See the full story here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34p5a/a-virtual-reality-sex-worker-was-denied-entry-to-the-us-for-prostitution