Hacker News Reader

Comment by gotorazor | Hacker News Reader

So this is basically reciprocity. The American Department of Homeland Security has a similar program for Europeans. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

View on HN

Kind of, but not entirely. Some EU countries' citizens are excluded from the US ESTA ( Bulgaria, Romania) and need to apply for a visa with ridiculous questions ( list all countries you've visited in the last 5 years (if you live in the EU that's a stupid question, i had to go through my Google Maps history to have the full list), and crazy stuff like "are you coming to prostitute yourself in the US") and in-person interviews at an American embassy. There's no reciprocity for that kind of special treatment.

Edited to add: and of course they request fingerprints and photos ( of course in a special format nobody else uses). I'm still pissed i had to give up that information and it ended up for nothing ( i didn't end up visiting the US, and now i no longer need that visa)

The most stupid question is when they ask you if you are a terrorist or plan a terrorist attack in America. Even if someone would be a terrorist, why would someone give an honest answer to this question.

So they get you for lying on the application - which can be criminal, even if they won't have proof the actual act. It's quite a standard practice.

You'd figure they can get them for terrorists.

It's crazy how law-oriented people are in the US. I'm sure they don't do bad things only because It iS ThE LaW, not because they are bad.

But if they can’t prove that you committed a terrorist act or we’re planning to then there’s no proof that you lied in the application…

How can they not have proof you are lying about being a terrorist if they don't have proof you are a terrorist, thus lying? Are you sure it's not ridiculous?

It easier to prove the existence of plans rather than intents. For the former a few messages about what building should be blown up might be enough.

Oh, this question is decades old and I believe 15 years ago it was still solved by an *asterisk:

"Answering yes in this question does not disqualify you from receiving a visa".

People entering US from other countries are treated like shit regardless if they have visas or their countries apply for visa-less process. Both of those suck, you are treated like a criminal from the very first meeting in consulate, they take your fingerprints and you still have a decent chance of being put back after arrival. Business visas are more pleasant but it was for so long just "pay for more predictable process" and still has a lot of flaws.

A grandparent once accidentally checked yes for their baby and was irrevocably fucked. No way to correct the record ever, that kid is permanently listed as a terrorist.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/16/baby-us-emba...

In the article you referenced they state that the baby was cleared after a trip to the embassy. The costs were because they needed to reschedule flights. But the baby was cleared to enter.

I meant there's no way to clear the ESTA ineligible flag ticking that box set, which means this baby will need to have an in person interview every time they want to enter the US for the rest of their life.

Iceland, and specifically some of our financial institutions, was placed on a terrorist list by the British PM Gordon Brown during the financial crisis in 2008. His thinking was to be able to freeze the funds these institutions held in Britain.

I know of many people who worked on the floor in those institutions during that time that have joked about what would happen if they would technically tell the truth on those ESTA questionnaires.

I don't think any has actually done so.

I had to fill in all countries for the last 10 years for a visa once. They gave me 100 characters. Even just writing two letter codes with a space beteeen that just means 33. I don’t travel much and even I had over 50.

At least they didn’t want entry/exit dates. Imagine you lived somewhere like Baarle-Nassau.

They should definitely fix that, however "don't travel much" and "over 50 (countries travelled)" are opposites.

Not just for Bulgaria and Romania, also Cyprus.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com