When you enter the US (if you are not American) you have to fill out a form. I recall it asking if you are now or have ever been a member of the Communist Party.
Have they changed that? Or amended it to ask if you’ve ever been affiliated with any terrorist organization?
Ta.
I think you should make clear whether you are talking about immigration (i.e. semi-permanent stay) or just a visa (i.e. limited period visit, such as a vacation). It looks like you mean the latter.
For the record, if you are from the European Union you don’t have to apply to a visum beforehand IIRC, although you do have to fill in a short form with questions when you arrive at the airport (that’s what I had to do in 1999). Unfortunately I don’t remember the questions; there was nothing particularly noteworthy to me, but then, I’m not a particularly noteworthy guy 
Whether things are different these days, I don’t know. Hope another poster will be able to help.
Immigration form N-400 (pdf file), for naturalization asks in page 7 if you’ve ever been a member of:
And a bunch of other questions specifically relating to Nazis and discrimination.
Do they really make you fill out a 10 page form just to enter the country? That’s insane.
Can you be denied immigration solely for answering yes to this question? Even if you are/were a member of the Communist Party of the United States?
I wonder how they handle the case with Canada, which has two mutually-antagonistic Communist parties. The US Immigration form is worded in such a way that it presupposes there is only one, presumably international, Communist Party.
I think form N-400 is for naturalization, meaning you are seeking US citizenship. A travel visa application is much shorter IIRC.
Sorry for the confusion:
I meant a standard white sheet, that all people who are not American have to fill out.
Having said that, I was on a flight from Tehran to JFK (in 1979) so I suppose maybe there was a special case made for me. I know that there are all sorts of questions about your political beliefs required when you apply for a spousal green card (husband has one), including a statement from the applicant that he/she will not try to overthrow the gummit.
Canadians don’t have to fill out any immigration forms to enter the US nowadays, though I imagine that may be subject to change at some point. I hope not, though.
Canadians just need proof of citizenship–that is, a birth certificate (usually with some form of supplementary photo ID), or a citizenship card (I don’t know about Canadian citizens who were born outside Canada or the US though), or a passport. That’s all, and the times I’ve crossed into the US post-9-11, I’ve been able to use my passport without anything other than a customs form to declare goods and their values that I’m bringing into the US.
Years ago, I remember flying from Europe into the US (in transit; I was heading home to Canada) and having to fill out an I-94 form, but I don’t recall anything on the form about Communists or terrorists.
Answering “yes” to this question won’t automatically disqualify you, but you will have to supply an explanation, which will be judged on its own merits.
They do if they want to immigrate, which is what we’re discussing.
Anahita, you’re just taking about a short tourist-type visit, right? If so, there’s nothing on the I-94 form which asks about political beliefs/memberships. That’s only for permanent residence/naturalization.
Years ago, I believe the nonimmigrant visa application form did have a question along those lines, but it doesn’t anymore. I’ve had nonimmigrant visa applications for something like 6 families cross my desk this week, so at this point I can probably fill in the blanks in my sleep.
Yes, Eva Luna, as I said, this was years ago. Just wondered if it had changed. Myself and my brother were unaccompanied minors travelling back from summer holidays in Tehran (to JFK) when we encountered these forms. Trying to explain to Iranians who had very little English what to answer for that question was interesting. I was what? 10 at the time and I didn’t have a very good political Farsi vocabulary.
Thanks for the answer!
The I-94W Visa Waiver form - I usually filled it out on the plane, although it always appeared that 50% of my fellow travellers couldn’t be bothered - or they just filled out the fields they felt like - or they didn’t fill out the fields on the backside. Nothing like waiting in line behind people who’re filling out paperwork at the INS counter after an 11-hour flight with at least 10 reminders that said paperwork is important. But I’m not bitter.
Anyhoo, the I-94W questions are as follows:
*Do any of the following apply to you ? (Answer Yes or No)
A Do you have a communicable disease, physical or mental disorder, or are you a drug abuser or addict ?
B Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or have been arrested or convicted for two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentance to confinement was five years or more; or have been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities ?
C Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terroist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were you involved; in any way in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies ?
D Are you seeking to work in the U.S.; or have you ever been excluded and deported; or have been previously removed from the United States; or procurred or attempted to procure a visa or entry into the U.S. by fraud or by misrepresentation ?
E Have you ever detained, retained or witheld custody of a child from a U.S. citizen granted custody of the child ?
F Have you ever been denied a U.S. visa or entry into the U.S. or had a U.S. visa caneled? If yes; when and where ?
G Have you ever asserted immunity from prosecution ? *
I always got a giggle out of the “immoral activities” - that certainly leaves some wiggle room for extradition procedures.
The forms for permanent residency are, to say the least, more involved. Form I-485 does indeed have the question Have you ever been a member of, or in any way affiliated with, the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party ? among the other questions on the applicant being a prostitute, illegal gambler, terrorist, spy, prospective polygamist etc. etc.
Immigration paperwork is kinda funny, in a shake-your-head-slowly way, as long as you can keep a detached attitude. Of course, when your future depends on you getting every silly detail right, it’s not quite as much fun…
Ah, well I wasn’t sure how many years back your question dated. I thought maybe your story about ariving from Teheran was meant to relate to the issue, rather than being the issue itself.
BTW, if you’ve been a member of the Communist Party, it generally doesn’t end up being a big deal in the permanent residency/naturalization process, unless you were at a policy-making level. Zillions of people joined to get better access to jobs, education, better food rations, etc., and the U.S. Government recognizes that.
The “crimes of moral turpitude” thing is the one that bites most people in the butt unexpectedly, especially those Canadians who are used to crossing the border on a whim with no need to apply for a visa. Now that we’re actually checking on people with greater regularity on the U.S. side (although many clients report they’re still pretty much being waved across), you’d be amazed what we’ve found out about various clients.
My favorite story had to be from my Immigration Court days; one guy was charged with ineligibility to enter the U.S. because of a long-ago conviction for soliciting prostitution. The charging document read that he had attempted to enter the U.S. as a “visitor for pleasure,” but was ineligible to do so without a waiver of his conviction. (“Visitor for pleasure” is the B-2 category, the one most people enter on for tourist-type visits.) Maybe I’m a geek, but I was in stitches.
That, and the (almost unbelievable) idea many would-be immigrants have that they can just not disclose criminal records and nobody will notice. The FBI and CIA do check out your police records, folks. They aren’t asking for your fingerprints and previous addresses just for a laugh.
So what exactly is ‘moral turpitude’?
My Collins English Dictionary defines ‘turpitude’ as ‘base character or action; depravity’, and notes that it comes from the Latin for ‘base’.
However, I know that many actions that are considered wrong in one location are perfectly okay in another location. Could I be doing something that is perfectly normal and legal in my country and be turned back because it is Considered Immoral in the States? Is there a reference?
Same with mental disorder. If you have mild depression or ADD, you have to write it down?
Volumes of case law define moral turpitude, and the definition changes constantly (and sometimes according to what Federal circuit you’re in). Some things, like rape or murder, are no-brainers. DUI can vary according to state law, and it gets messier from there. Sorry I can’t be more concise, but it’s really not a concise area of law.
If you’re from Ireland you have to fill out the form and pass through Immigration before they even let you near the 'plane … god help you if you don’t currently have a job, like me when I first went to the States, I think it was only the fact that I had $2,500 spending money with me that saved me the ignomony of being told I wasn’t going anywhere