If someone had an encounter with ICE in the U.S. while doing pet sitting, can it be said that the person is doing TrustedHousesitters?
(edited by Forum team for clarity)
Hi @Nergus
Welcome to the Forum.
While members can share their own experiences and tips, just a quick note â weâre not able to give official legal advice here. Everything you read will be from other membersâ personal experiences, so itâs always best to double-check with a qualified immigration lawyer or accredited representative if you need specific guidance.
I can see that you reached out to the team recently and spoke with our chatbot. Iâm going to pass the ticket over to the team and see if an agent can reach out to you directly as they may have more resources available to help advise you.
Jenny 
No, that would definitely NOT help. Itâs considered work, and is not legal in the terms of a visitorâs visa.
Stay away from ICE. They have taken legitimate tourists and even US citizens.
Best to say you are a tourist. Your age and the country you are arriving from will determine how much interrogation you get. Book a hotel for a few days before the sit. If you have a return flight even better. Say you will be touring around that state and maybe nearby states. I was told to do this almost two decades ago by a family friend who is a travel agent by trade. I sold my house and was a nomad for 9 months and in a few different countries. Through a different platform but similar in nature. Dress fairly conservative on the plane and look like you have the funds to travel. Look like someone they want in the country. Have a confident demeanor and be pleasant at the border. I am from the US. There are risks in life you can choose to take or not. I was asked at the first border what I was doing in that country. I told them I was traveling. I had no other questions asked but if they asked me where I was staying I could show them the hotel reservation.
To clarify terminology - ICE is the enforcement arm of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and operates anywhere inside the US. CBP (Customs and Border Protection) is the arm of DHS that screens travelers at US borders.
If OP was talking to ICE, it would not have been at a US border.
A Word of Caution: Understanding the Risks for Housesitters in the U.S.
Thereâs a lot of bad advice floating around about tourist visas in housesitting forums, but one member whose advice I trust is @Lassie â because sheâs an actual immigration attorney. As mentioned, the best option is to consult your own attorney (which I have done) â and thatâs the foundation of my thoughts here.
The Public Nature of Housesitter Profiles
Housesitter profiles are public and accessible not just to other members of platforms like TrustedHousesitters (THS), but also to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Homeownersâ profiles are also publicly available.
The Pressure on ICE
ICE employees have been under increasing pressure to meet quotas for detaining and deporting non-US citizens For example, under a now-rescinded bonus program, ICE would hand out $200 bonuses for each non-citizen deported within seven days of arrest, and $100 for those deported within two weeks.
Reports suggest ICE has a target of 3,000 arrests per day. To reach that number, they need to get creative â which means that minor offenses that were once overlooked are now more likely to result in detention and deportation.
How ICE and CBP Might Target Housesitters
If I were an officer trying to meet my quota, I might spend hours patrolling the streets or I could simply hop onto THS and search for profiles. The government has access to a massive range of databases, including facial recognition technology. The privacy protections that are in place in the EU donât apply in the U.S. So even if you donât use your full name, you could still be easily found by authorities.
If I were CBP, Iâd flag THS members for âenhanced vetting.â when they cross the border. After all, people who use THS are far more likely to be coming into the U.S. with the intent to house-sit, compared to non-members. The system is set up in such a way that it would be easier for CBP to target THS members rather than sifting through unrelated data.
Past Behavior Can Lead to Deportation
Itâs not just current behavior that can get you into trouble; past actions can also trigger deportation. For example, if your profile shows that youâre from the EU but you did a sit in Portland, Oregon in 2021, authorities can easily trace your visa records. If you were on a tourist visa during that time, your sit was illegal â which means they could deport you now, even if years have passed.
This is also something that can affect your ability to apply for future immigration benefits. If youâve entered the U.S. illegally in the past, it can impact your eligibility for a work visa, green card, or even U.S. citizenship (you never know if youâll fall in love with someone in the US and want to move there with them).
How ICE and CBP Could Use Listings to Target Sitters
If I were an ICE agent, I might scour the listings of homeowners in my area, especially looking for those who have used non-U.S. sitters in the past. I could note down the dates of upcoming sits and âdrop byâ those addresses to check if the sitter is legally allowed to be there. If not? Thatâs another âwinâ for my daily quota. I presumably could also look for non-citizens that did US-based sits on tourist visas in the past and cross-reference with entry records to see if any of those sitters are in the US now, and thus deportable.
This kind of monitoring might sound like too much work, but itâs not. Thanks to image recognition technology, itâs relatively simple to match the address from a listing to its location. And, honestly, sitting in air-conditioned offices analyzing listings is probably more appealing than tracking people down on the street in scorching heat.
Lying to Immigration Officers â A Risk You Donât Want to Take
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to lie to an immigration officer, whether theyâre from ICE or CBP. Some of the âcutesie tricksâ that people recommend â like making a fake hotel reservation or claiming youâre staying with friends â are dangerous. If they find out youâre lying, youâre not just in trouble, youâre likely facing detention, deportation, and a bar from re-entry.
If you get caught doing an illegal sit in the U.S., donât lie â either stay silent or tell the truth, and get an attorney immediately. The risks are just too high.
Why This Matters: The Changing Landscape of Immigration Enforcement
Iâm not saying this to scare people. But people should be scared â many of my friends are, and Iâm certainly concerned. Iâm sharing this to inform others of the risks involved in trying to house or petsit in the U.S. on a tourist visa. The reality is, itâs just not worth the risk.
One Example of the Current Environment:
Just recently, a Danish man with a green card (arguably a âhigher statusâ than a tourist visa), an America wife, and US-citizen children, who lived in the U.S. for over a decade, is in detention and facing deportation. Why? He forgot to file an immigration form in 2015, during a period of immense personal grief after the stillbirth of their child. That administrative error is now being used as a reason to detain him and threaten him with deportation â and likely, to meet a quota.
Conclusion: Donât Risk It
If you want to house-sit in the U.S., do it legally. Donât risk deportation and the future denial of immigration benefits (not to mention the safety of the pets who might be put in your care). Itâs just not worth it.
Final Note: If you have factual information that challenges any of the points made in this post, Iâd be happy to hear it. However, if what you have to offer is simply an opinion or advice on how to circumvent the law, Iâd ask that you reconsider sharing it. Remember, assisting someone in entering the U.S. illegally is itself a violation of the law.
@KittySitter thatâs great detailed information. Just out of interest, do you know what penalties the home owner might face if an illegal house sitter is found to be in their home?
Not denying the risks others have mentioned, but going back to the OP there is a difference between ICE and border guards. This difference is getting murkier as ICE is n0w present at airports.
In many places ICE is simply grabbing people off the streets â mostly people who âlookâ a certain way and I canât say what way on this moderated forum. They have quotas and are under pressure to meet those quotas.
In NYC for example there have been high school students picked up by ICE and in one case, ICE was hanging out by a middle-school age baseball practice trying to question the children but were disuaded by the coach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbbZXOJiR4g
However, things are not as bad as LA which is still has a military presence â a highly unusual situation in the United States.
There is a lot of information on another thread about challenges at the border crossing with immigration and what to say or not say. Challenges with Border Guards - RE the Laws
If you were actually in the US and stopped on the street by ICE or ICE came to the home you were staying at, thatâs another matter. You would have every right not to say anything. There is a lot of information about your rights if stopped by ICE. Here is a link for example: What to Do if You're Stopped by Immigration Officers - NYCLU
To the best of my knowledge - and I am not an attorney - the penalties could include escalating fines (amount increases for repeat violations), prison time (unlikely, but legally possible), and complications around future immigration engagements.
As an example: Letâs say youâre a young, US-citizen homeowner in your thirties and you have a handful of non-citizen tourists on tourist visas sit in your home. No big deal, right?
Ten years later youâre in Italy and meet the love of your life, who happens to be an Italian citizen. You decide to reside in the US and you sponsor him for a green card so he can live in the US with you. At the interview, the officer asks if youâve ever helped someone enter the US illegally. You say no. They pull up the Trusted Housesitters website (or maybe an archive of it, that they kept in their giant database from ten years ago) that shows your house with reviews you gave for non-citizens who took care of your pet. They might deny the green card application and now you and the love of your life have to get you a residence permit in Italy or make another plan.
It is even worse for households where one of the members is not a citizen. There are over 12 million - million - green card holders in the United States (meaning they are legal residents with the right to work, but do not have a passport, are not citizens, and cannot vote. Many are married to or otherwise closely related to citizens). If one of these green card holders were to slip up and allow someone on a tourist visa to housesit for them, then they can be deported and unable to return for a minimum of five years. Not to mention that if you are deported from one country, it can make it harder for you to get entry into another depending on their immigration practices.
Many of the posts on this site venture opinions about the likelihood of this happening. I am more focused on the possible consequences if it does happen. If I were 90 years old on a one-time trip to the US, with no intent of ever going back, I might risk it. But if I were still in my working or early retirement years and wanted to leave my options open, I wouldnât risk a permanent mark on my immigration record in exchange for a few weeks with a fluffy companion in the United States when there are so many other countries I could legally go to.
These comments are very interesting, however, it would be advisable for the TrustedHouseSitter app to create a letter, tutorial, or a specific section in the app or website to manage this issue in the United States, which could affect caregivers and even owners. If this were to happen, it would generate fear among caregivers and owners, which could affect the platform itself.
This is GREAT ! Thanks for helping our fellow (intâl) sitters in our current state of âŚ..whatever it is !
This has been covered to some extent in the very lengthy thread about Border Guards. From my perspective, Trusted Housesitters is in the matchmaking business, not the immigration business. Immigration is insanely complicated. For example: What if you have triple citizenship (many people do!), but youâre residing in a country where you just have a work visa and no citizenship? Can you sit there? I want THS to invest their time in improving their core competency - matching sitters with homeowners. One way to do that would be to make it easier to match based on specific areas. For example, many have asked to have a âSchengen Searchâ, as those who can sit legally in the Schengen area often can NOT sit legally in the UK.
The US laws are being enforced far more strictly this year than in the past, but they are actually not that different from laws in many other countries. I cannot envision any scenario by which Trusted Housesitters could have enough staff to field all the questions that would arise.
In the interests of simplicity I apply to sits only in those countries where I am legally authorized to work (though there are some other countries where loopholes could allow me to get away with a few weeks of sitting, I donât have the energy to research and defend those loopholes). If I were a homeowner, I would ask any sitters who applied - regardless of where they live - if they are authorized to work in my country, and keep a record of their written response (I personally would not go so far as asking for a copy of their work permit or whatever - just written confirmation that they can legally work in my country). For example, someone on a student visa who is living in a country may not be allowed to work in that country so even if they live down the road in a student apartment, they might not be legally allowed to do a sit. Their visa might allow them only to study.
I think the onus is on sitters and homeowners to ask the right questions. Whenever I travel to another country, which is often, I always research their visa requirements extensively - they change! THS does have a page about international housesits, and boy oh boy oh boy I wish they would delete the letters on that page, letters that do more harm than good. But if you read the letter carefully, it is just about a âfeelingâ. It states, âwe, respectfully, do not feel that the above-described arrangements would fall under this category [work by foreign nationals which would require work visas/authorization in the United States]â CBP doesnât care one whit about what some company in the UK âfeelsâ. They care about their rules, their discretion, their bonuses, and their quotas. So do your own research - both as a sitter and as a homeowner. Itâs actually pretty simple once you learn to look up visa requirements.
NO NO NO NO
there already is a letter and itâs the worst thing a sitter could hand to anyone at border control (or to ICE).
There is simply nothing THS could say or do that would influence border control of any nation.
Shortly after I saw your post I saw in the news Canadaâs Girl Guides Suspend U.S. Trips over border concerns (I canât post external links here but a simple web search will find the relevant content).
Girl Guides are the equivalent of the Scouts; typically trips for these types of organizations are for camping, sightseeing, etc. And it seems even that level of activity is insufficiently safe for the members of their organization, in terms of border crossing.
Travel entails risks. Yes, there have been a few horror stories about border crossings into the US but, so far, none of them have been over house or pet sitting. I agree the risks have risen in dealings with CBP but that is the case whether youâre a tourist, have a visa or green card. Indeed, US citizens have been roughed up by CBPâs and ICEâs blunt brutality. I know of folks who are US citizens who have decided not to leave the US over fears of crossing back into the US. So no one is immune and everyone traveling to the US has to assess their own tolerance for ALL the risks of foreign travel with, IMO, pet sitting arrangements being near the bottom of the list. And as an HO, Iâm fine risking scrutiny from CBP or ICE. If they want to waste time and resources on me, Iâll gladly keep them occupied as long as possible.
Additionally, the horror stories you refer to came up early this year. It was a terrible look for the US and for CBP and, based on the lack of recent similar horror stories, I suspect CBP has been intentionally toning things down. Theyâve also done great damage to the US as a travel destination
But if it makes you feel better, our last sitter flew to the US from Europe on a major airline and had her economy row all to herself with empty seats in rows behind and forward of her. Last week, we talked to a guide at a Southern California theme park who told us that they are facing furloughs and reduced hours because attendance has been down so much for the last few months due to the drop in foreign visitors typically expected this time of year. And for the first time since being on THS, weâve had 0 sitters from outside the US apply for our next sit when, typically, 50% of our applicants would have been from Europe or Canada.
Thatâs both shocking and important news. Yes, all profiles and listings are public, ICEâs chasing bonuses can easily trawl them. Reviews record who stayed, when, and where they came from.
And say a host has had 15 international housesitters, and ICE wanted to take an aggressive stance to hit numbers quickly and secure bonuses, they could even frame it as trafficking - especially if arguing it involved people coming for assignments and work, doesnât really matter if itâs free and voluntary. The app and its marketing are packed with job-related language and features that would only strengthen such claims.
(Not directed at you, Buttercup, but more in support of your post)
Iâm afraid there are some people here in the US who are still stubbornly insisting on wearing their rose-colored glasses, or who are insufficiently informed about the draconian measures being taken to supposedly âcrack down on âillegalâ immigration.â When even legal residents & natural US citizens are being caught up in these dragnets, I find it tough to argue âwell it hasnât happened to any pet-sitters that weâve heard of yet, so itâs probably ok.â Thousands of people have been rounded up and denied their basic Constitutional & human rights; we only hear about a minuscule number of the cases. In the past few days, itâs been reported that the National Guard will be deployed to âassistâ ICE in their efforts in an expanded number of our states, where the governors of those states have indicated they are amenable to it. The administration has also explicitly vowed to âgo afterâ those who are considered to be opposing ICE/DHS efforts â whatever those stated efforts are on any given day, & however they define âoppositionâ in a given scenario.
Realistically, of the thousands of tourists still traveling here, are your chances high that youâll run into a worst case scenario? Probably not. But only you can decide if you are willing to take that risk, given some of the extreme actions being taken. Following established US law & judicial orders are demonstrably no longer a consideration or curb on the administrationâs policies or procedures. (That is not an opinion; that is a fact.)
Iâm sorry if thatâs uncomfortable or inconvenient for our US pet owners & hosts, but to me, our traveling sittersâ safety & well-being comes first. As has been said elsewhere: if you choose to come, know your Constitutional rights (you do have them, even if youâre not a US citizen), & it wouldnât be a bad idea to have the number of a firm that specializes in immigration law â just in case.
Iâm also sorry if that all sounds dire. It is a very different & uncertain time here right now. People just need to do their research, & do what makes them feel safe.
Applause, applause, @MerryPuppins. Only a fraction of whatâs happening makes the news, but itâs enough to know the times are a-changingâand fast. Iâve heard credible reports of ICE renting furnished homes through sites like Facebook or Craigslist, then confronting cleaning crews when they arrive with armed, masked officers demanding proof of citizenship. Most of us donât carry such documents, and even fully legal workers are closing businesses because of the stress.
Some schools have seen delinquency rates jump 20%+ as even legal students fear being detained on their way to school. You can also look up the âPenske truck Trojan horseâ operation for another example of the tactics being used that were unthinkable even a few years ago.
In my hometown, universities have warned faculty, staff, and students who are here on work or student visas not to travel abroad for fear they wonât be allowed back.
In some neighborhoods ICE is asking people to report on their neighbors if they suspect they are here without proper authorization. If you are a homeowner, how confident are you that that guy two doors down wonât make a phone call if he overhears your sitterâs accent? If youâre a sitter, how confident are you that the homeowner youâve matched with isnât actually an ICE agent?
Basing a risk assessment for house- and pet-sitting on pre-2025 experiences is playing a dangerous game. Everything has changed. Do your own homework, and base your decisions on current realities, not a trip from a decade ago or questionable advice from a travel agent or anyone else.
There are now also risks inside the US, not just at the border. There can be ICE checkpoints anywhere, and the US Supreme Court has said that skin color or an accent can be a reason for ICE to check immigration status.
There was the raid on Hyundai/LG where ICE detained a few hundred engineers from Korea and Japan, probably based on a tip from a local. So do not annoy the neighbours on your petsit!
And in several states, any encounter with the police can lead them to look at your immigration status and transfer you to ICE detention.
So this is extreme. Maybe the risks for a foreigner to get locked up is only comperable to places like Iran.