Question on immigration form

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kathrin
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kathrin

Guest
If you travel visa-free to the US, you need to fill out a short immigration form.
Last time (and I did post about this here) that was a bit of a problem for me, since one of the questions is whether I any physical or mental disorder. Being on medication for OCD, but told by a flight attendant that it may cause problems if I answer yes to any of the questions, I finally settled on filling in the German form which phrased it a bit differently (asking about a disability rather than a disorder, which I would say I have not).

I am planning to fly back to the US this summer, and getting a visa would be complicated for different reasons, so I will be using the visa waiver program form again (I can stay for three months then).

This time I called the embassy first and asked the guy on the phone. He said yes, I had to declare that on the form, but should just bring a letter from my doctor that stated that I am not a danger to myself or anybody else, which is what they are really interested in.

Simple enough.

Now, most people seem to tell me that I should just say “no” to that question, because really they are not interested in mild disorders, and I would just make things more complicated for everybody. That there is a difference between lying and not mentioning something that nobody is really interested in. They seem to think I am being OVER-correct.

So I would just like to ask people here, what they think about it?

Kathrin
 
I would get the note from the doctor and answer truthfully on the form. What if (no offense intended here) you have an episode related to your disorder and then they discover that you lied on your application? Medication is great…but it’s not always perfect. Would that not jeopardize your future visits since they now know you’re willing to lie on the official documents needed to gain entry into the country?

The truth might cause some inconvenience; however, IMHO, that’s one of the crosses associated with your disorder. Ask Christ to help you carry it, and then your conscience won’t be bothered by the lie.
 
Something that even the people who tell me they wouldn’t be so overly correct understand is that if they for some reason decide to search my bags and find the medication (I take what in the US is called Prozac, the Swiss brand name is Fluctine), then I would have to explain something too.
Of course I could say I didn’t know that something like this had to be declared.

But personally I am somebody who is for the truth. 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top