June 24, 2004
Form DS-156: Nonimmigrant Visa Application
Yeah, I have way too much free time now. I tend to read anything and everything I can get my hands on. Online newspapers are a boon to feed such boredom.
I came across an article today about a British journalist's harrowing detainment with US Immigration. The US has recently been requiring foreign journalists to declare themselves as such before entering the country, and requiring a special visa clearance.
Curious, I wanted to see what the application forms were like for a US Visa. From the US Department of State, I present form "DS-156: Nonimmigrant Visa Application":
It reads:
IMPORTANT: ALL APPLICANTS MUST READ AND CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX FOR EACH ITEM.
A visa may not be issued to persons who are within specific categories defined by law as inadmissible to the United States (except when a waiver is obtained in advance). Is any of the following applicable to you?
...
Do you seek to enter the United States to engage in export control violations, subversive or terrorist activities, or any other unlawful purpose? Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State? Have you ever participated in persecutions directed by the Nazi government of Germany; or have you ever participated in genocide? YES NO
I don't know...perhaps it's a good idea to ask these questions on the Visa form. Knowing the US, there's probably a law somewhere that states that we have to ask. But I wonder if ANYONE has EVER checked the box for "YES." Their choice of terms is kind of interesting as well, whitewashing and equating the horror of mass killing with the past tense of "participate."
(A side note, I know, but further up on the form, it asks if one has ever been "a prostitute, or a procurer of prostitutes." It would be really cool if this one form, this otherwise boring government form, could use the word "pimp." Think about it, the possibility of a pimped-out government form.)
As a public service, I present our current Homeland Security Status:
Or, in a much more happier, "Muppet-ier" format.... |
Someday, I'm either A) Running for office, to bring some common sense to the country, B) Moving to Great Britain and praying things make more sense, or C) finding someone to check "YES" to the question.
I'll return to my normal inane ramblings tomorrow or the next day, and quite possibly answer the question "What if I held a party and nobody came?" 