US State Dept warning on travel to or transiting Hong Kong

[RooFlyer]

There's a massive difference between "can inspect your phone" and "can throw you in prison if you do not give the password". Are the yanks going to give me a year in prison if I don't give them the password, or will they simply deny me entry?

I was going to say they will deny you entry (if not a US citizen), but this page gives some interesting insights, and compare to Hong Kong now, where it is a criminal offence to refuse to give passwords etc so that the device can be inspected - even in transit.

Border Search of Electronic Devices at Ports of Entry

Foreign nationals who are applicants for admission to the United States must establish to the satisfaction of the inspecting CBP officer that they are entitled to enter the United States. Admissibility determinations are made based on the totality of the circumstances. If a foreign national refuses to present their electronic devices and the information resident on the device in a condition that allows for the examination of the device and its contents, CBP may consider the foreign national’s noncompliance and the inability to inspect the device when making admissibility decisions and may take appropriate law enforcement actions. However, CBP’s ability to inspect an electronic device alone does not determine admissibility.

So 'in theory' you may be admitted while still refusing, but I guess that's unlikely.

If a traveler being admitted as a U.S. citizen does not present their device in a condition that allows for examination, the U.S. citizen traveler will not be denied entry into the United States based on CBP’s inability to complete an inspection of their device. However, as noted above, their device may be subject to exclusion, detention, or other appropriate action or disposition.

 

[RooFlyer]

Perhaps read this

Not sure the issue you were trying to illustrate but although that’s a terrible and horrible experience it shows the point that at the US border the worst that will happen is that you’ll be denied entry ‘for not doing anything wrong’.

In China HKG, you can be arrested.

 

[Aeryn]

Perhaps read this

Noting that she was attempting to enter on a visa waiver instead of having a spousal visa. So not a typical scenario. The amount of luggage and a US husband raised flags for over stay that couod have easily been avoided.