US immigration forms: How can an allegedly intelligent and civilised people...

[heinous seamus]

If you tick yes to 'are you a terrorist?' the plane heads straight for Guantanamo bay.

 

[Crispy]

I have one thing to say

 

[kyser_soze]

TBH, this looks like pretty much every visa-waiver I've ever signed, within a couple of questions adjusted for local paranoias...

 

[Aldebaran]

The only thing that is sad about it is that such "forms" underscore the sad fact all is normal to them, what we take for paranoia. Would not be a problem would they not be so keen on exporting it globally, in practice.

salaam.

 

[kyser_soze]

I've had to answer similarly stupid questions in many countries around the world, it's not specific to the US...

 

[Aldebaran]

By the way, I think it is obvious that I also have some issues with the words "intelligent " and "civilized" in the thread title

salaam.

 

[Aldebaran]

Seriously, if I was ever asked such stupid questions, I would say yes to all, just to see the reactions.

salaam.

 

[kyser_soze]

Seriously, if I was ever asked such stupid questions, I would say yes to all, just to see the reactions.

salaam.

Then you would be having a very, very quick trip back to your country of origin, that would be the reaction. As an idea it's nearly as stupid as yelling out 'I've got a bomb!' in a departure lounge or onboard a plane.

 

[Aldebaran]

Haha. It would be fun to watch that develop.

salaam.

 

[TomPaine]

Yeah the green form is a bit stupid. We worked out that the youngest you could be now, and have been 18 on the last day of WW2 thus considered an adult in the Nazi party, was something like 81 years old. I doubt many 81 year old Nazis are going to be popping over to the US for a trip to Disney. Considering a lot of them fled to South America and assumed new identities, they wouldn't be eligable for the Green waiver form as Argentine citizens or whatever anyway and would need a visa I believe.

The forms get worst when you fill out the Green card app, all sorts of weird questions, like have you ever been a member of the Communist party, have you ever committed a crime for which you have never been arrested etc.

As I understand it the Green waiver form is an agreement between the US and countries who allow free access for US citizens to said country hence why the majority of the EU are eligable for the waiver. However the US seems to think free access means "Our citizens can go anywhere with the countries we have agreements, however we will only kinda half honour that".

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

People always mock the USA for having these questions, but the UK has pretty much identical ones on its own visa application forms.

 

[TomPaine]

RenegadeDog> My missus is a USC and whenever we come back to England to visit she has to fill in the little card on the plane. It doesn't ask any of the stupid questions the US one does, and we don't randomly ban Americans from entering for unpaid parking tickets or once getting caught with a 1/3rd of a joint.

 

[Andy the Don]

My father told a story about when a group of British sports hacks were covering a match in East Berlin in the 1960's. The hacks flew to Tegel in West Berlin and went by coach to Checkpoint Charlie where the filed off the bus and into East German passport control. All was going well until they were all ordered out and back to the west. The reason, well one bright spark, under the heading NAME put James Bond and under REASON FOR VISIT PUT ESPIONAGE.
The moral of the story is that all border officals are humourless bastards and do not put any funnies on any offical visa applications.

 

[Idaho]

Corrected

Bureaucracy is never pointless.

It always has as it's primary intent the creation of power and status for the bureaucrat.

 

[elbows]

Yeah, as the late great Zappa said: "Those who think that Hydrogen is the basis of the Universe, just because it's ubiquitous - should re-think! By such a measure it must be STUPIDITY that is the basis of the Universe...!"

Funny you should mention Zappa, here is something from his last work, where the various parts of the US visa application form are turned into performance (

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qPPDrXHjJx8

Give it a minute or 3 to get into the silliest questions.

 

[T & P]

I'm deeply disappointed in this form.

They used to ask "is the purpose of your visit to overthrow the US government by force?"

And they say Americans don't do irony...

 

[gorski]

Funny you should mention Zappa, here is something from his last work, where the various parts of the US visa application form are turned into performance (

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qPPDrXHjJx8

Give it a minute or 3 to get into the silliest questions.

GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!