Not sure whether to post this here, in the humor section or political.

An American friend of mine here in Mexico is making a student visa application on behalf of a Mexican student to the American government. In the security section of the application here are some of the questions:

- Are you going to become a prostitute?
- Do you belong to a terrorist organization?
- Have you given money to a terrorist organization?
- Have you ever committed genocide?
- Are you going to commit genocide?
- Will you be laundering money?

Maybe I am missing something here, but to me it is mind boggling that anybody can ask questions like this and expect honest answers. What would the reaction be if there was a 'yes' answer to any of these questions?
Government bureaucracy at it's best? Sorry, but in my mind these type of questions make your government look pretty stupid.

Don't you feel safer now that there is a foreign student coming your way that can honestly answer 'no' all these inane questions?

 

I can tell you what the reaction is if you answer yes to any of those questions, you will be denied

These questions are quite similar to those on a Form 4473 Firearms transaction Form that all customers have to fill out before a Gun Dealer like myself can sell them a weapon.

Seems silly to ask a possible criminal to be honest about such things but I have had a couple customers refused because they said "yes" on the forms Most likely the FBI would have refused them any way on the background check but who knows?

This is typical wasteful Govt at it's best.

 

This is typical wasteful Govt at it's best.[/QUOTE]

Refer to the classic definition of "oxymoran",our government and common sense.
'Nough said.

 

you know what I find to be the biggest guberment waste of paper.
that stupid customs form I gotta fill out EVERY time I enter the country. I mean come on. every other country in the world has a Declaration and non-declaration line. if Im under the declaration limit. lemme walk by.

 

ever been audited by the IRS? I have in the eighties when they were full level Gestapo tactics....one of the agents came in as the 'good cop' and asked if I had buried money in my back yard; stuffed money in a mattress;lied about the money I make in the towing business; told me it was just a hobby to avoid becoming a productive American citizen and pay my fair share of taxes;and told me to explain how I would lie on the IRS forms to cheat the government because everyone who works three jobs just wants to make it 'look good' to the IRS.

needless to say, i remember being treated like that very clearly. I am all for reduction of government. some of the most routine forms have become five page pyschological exercises.

Fronty, I was told by the Border guys that one line was to improve time and conduct inspections fairly. "it shows the Americans that their gov is doing a thorough job." I look for the business men in line, hate to get behind a heavy set older touristy woman cause I have been delayed four times while she had questions or did not respond adequately to the simple interview questions....

or get sent to the in house investigators when i stay in canada for one week but have nothing to declare. like everyone is supposed to binges on booze and cigarette purchases....I show them my dive log, otherwise you may be there for four to six hours. innocent until proven guilty is getting the same as trust me, I'm from the government.

 

They took on my Father in the late 80s too.
Big mistake.

They told him he owed around 3 grand in back taxes for a Company Savings Plan.
He was pretty very fussy about record keeping.

By the time he came out, ......they owed HIM money.

 

Ive tried every tactic I can come up with for getting thru US immigration faster. There isn't a way. not only that, Im usually tired and cranky when I get there.
Is just that stupid little blue customs declaration form that annoys me. Can my passport, say "welcome back home" and have a nice day. Stop wasting pages in my passport by stamping it in Memphis!
I have tried following every demographic. Ive hit the side line next to the crew lane, Ive fought my way off the plane first, doesn't matter there is always someone in front of me that thought it would be a good idea to not fill out any documents and bury their passport in the bottom of their bag.
On the odd chance I dont get hung up at passport control, its that next security check point after I waited 45 minutes on my bag so I can drag it 15 feet and have it "rechecked" like it hadn't been check after it come off the plane. I get behind someone that wants to act like this is the first time they have ever traveled. jacket? shoes? belt? oh? I gotta take the change out of my pocket?. Oh, forgot my keys... what do you mean Im not supposed to stop half way thru the metal detector? Ive been behind every possible idiot and have personally saw every single one of those people and a few that do multiples.
Oh, another that just burnt me up... Coming into Dallas from Frankfurt, after passport control, you go back upstairs to a main entrance. They had 4 (FOUR) body scanners and two metal detectors going along with 4 baggage xrays. 20 TSA Clowns standing around. ONE SLOW OLD MAN verifying ID and boarding passes. Couldn't get someone else to verify I had an ID and a boarding pass???

 

America should use the Israeli security system at airports and that would speed things up, cost less and be a LOT more efficient.

 

How do the Israelis do it?

 

You should here the garbage from the idiots running customs. I don't even fly into Washington Dulles anymore because they never staff enough agents and there are literally 4 to 6 planes that land there every morning from overseas flights, and I hate the 3 hour wait in line.

I give the agent my passport and then he asks me, "What is the purpose of your visit?"

Me: "I'm coming home on vacation."

The guy ***** his head at me with that stupid dog look, you know the one ..... like the gears just locked up inside his brain. He says, "But you're coming from overseas .....".

Me: "Right, because I work overseas." I pass him my military ID and a copy of my orders (LOA) and tell him, "I work in Iraq as a DoD contractor".

Customs agent: "Do you have anything to declare?"

Me: "Nope, I wanted this to go as smooth as possible so I haven't even bought anything from Duty Free. I just want to get home to see my wife and kids, it's been 9 months since I've seen them."

Customs agent stamps my passport then says, "Thank you, enjoy your stay."



Enjoy my stay .... wow. Makes me think these guys read from a script like the idiots from Dell.

 

Do you know what TSA stands for?

Thousands Standing Around...

 

Off topic, but will answer anyway. My answer is stolen from another site.

The Israelis check for bombs and weapons too, but always with the understanding that things don't hijack planes, terrorists do -- and that the best way to detect terrorists is to focus on intercepting not bad things, but bad people. To a much greater degree than in the United States, security at El Al and Ben Gurion depends on intelligence and intuition -- what Rafi Ron, the former director of security at Ben Gurion, calls the human factor.

Israeli airport security, much of it invisible to the untrained eye, begins before passengers even enter the terminal. Officials constantly monitor behavior, alert to clues that may hint at danger: bulky clothing, say, or a nervous manner. Profilers -- that's what they're called -- make a point of interviewing travelers, sometimes at length. They probe, as one profiling supervisor told CBS, for ``anything out of the ordinary, anything that does not fit." Their questions can seem odd or intrusive, especially if your only previous experience with an airport interrogation was being asked whether you packed your bags yourself.

Unlike in US airports, where passengers go through security after checking in for their flights and submitting their luggage, security at Ben Gurion comes first. Only when the profiler is satisfied that a passenger poses no risk is he or she allowed to proceed to the check-in counter. By that point, there is no need to make him remove his shoes, or to confiscate his bottle of water.

* All cars, taxis, buses and trucks go through a preliminary security checkpoint before entering the airport compound. Armed guards spot-check the vehicles by looking into cars, taxis and boarding buses, exchanging a few words with the driver and passengers.

* Armed security personnel stationed at the terminal entrances keep a close watch on those who enter the buildings. If someone arouses their suspicion or looks nervous, they may strike up a conversation to further assess the person's intent. Plainclothes armed personnel patrol the area outside the building, and hidden surveillance cameras operate at all times.

* Inside the building, both uniformed and plainclothes security officers are on constant patrol.

* Departing passengers are personally questioned by security agents even before arriving at the check-in desk. This interview can last as little as five minutes, or as long as an hour if a passenger is selected for additional screening. Luggage and body searches may be conducted. After the search, bags are placed through an X-ray machine before passengers proceed to the check-in counters. All that said, El Al and Ben Gurion airport has for a long time realised that the person is more important than their bags. Therefore, occasionally, if security have assessed a person as a low risk, they will pass them straight through to the check-in desks, bypassing the main x-ray machines. Note that hand baggage is always x-rayed later on.

* After check-in, checked baggage is put in a pressure chamber to trigger any possible explosive devices. Passengers continue through to personal security and passport control, as in other airports. Before passing through the metal detectors and placing hand baggage through the X-ray machine, passports are re-checked and additional questions may be asked. Before boarding the aircraft, passports and boarding passes are checked once again.

* Security procedures for incoming flights are not as stringent, but passengers may be questioned by passport control depending on country of origin, or countries visited prior to arrival in Israel. Passengers who have recently visited countries at war with Israel (all Arab countries except Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania and Qatar) may be subject to further questioning.

How do the Israelis do it? For one thing, El Al puts at least one armed, plainclothes sky marshal on all its flights. One such agent foiled a hijack attempt over Holland in 1970. During El Al flights, the cockpit door, made of reinforced steel strong enough to repel fire from a handgun, remains locked. On the ground, the Israelis not only use the standard metal detectors and X-ray machines but also lean on teams of young agents, dressed in blue slacks and white shirts, who interrogate, to varying degrees, every passenger departing Ben Gurion and, in airports abroad, anyone flying El Al. The questions can include: "When did you book this flight?" "Who paid for the ticket?" "Why are you traveling?" "Whom did you meet while in Israel?" Business travelers are asked for documents proving they actually are pursuing a particular deal. Journalists are asked to reveal the stories they are going to cover. One agent will ask questions for a while, then a second will ask many of the same. The two will compare notes, and one or the other will ask a third batch of queries. This process often takes 20 minutes; it can take two hours.

The idea is to turn up inconsistencies in a terrorist's made-up story (or at least rattle him into a panic) and also expose individuals who may be unknowing accomplices. In 1986, El Al security at London's Heathrow airport discovered a bomb sewn into the suitcase of an unwitting Irish woman after she revealed that she had had a romance with a Jordanian, who had bought her the bag.

 

That is what happens when liberals get to make desicions. They want to be able to have papers that say hey we asked you on your visa app and you said no.....

 

A week ago in Palo Alto, Ca...

A man approaches an officers car and explains that he has no way to get home to Danville, Ca (1hr away).

Officer asks, Do you have anything illegal on you.

Man answers, Yes.

Officer asks, Do you mind if I search you?

Man Answers, No.

Man goes to jail on Cocaine charges.


So my answer is, yes, people sometimes do answer honestly.