A Mountain of Paperwork.

Anna has been very busy working on gathering all the necessary documentation as well as paying all the necessary fees for the visa. In fact Anna had to pay nearly 25,000 rubles ($740.00) for 3 visas. Now she is waiting for the official receipt of payment from the U.S. Embassy so she can call to finally schedule her interview.

We are hoping she will get it scheduled this week and hopefully she can get in early this next month. But until she has her interview there are mountains of paperwork she needs to fill out and sign so she can bring them to the interview with her.

One of these forms is the Form DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration. It consists of two parts. Part one is Biographical Information. They need to know everything about her, her parents, her children, her second cousin's best friend's sister's pet gerbil and the number of hairs on everyone's head. But seriously, she has to provide a lot of information.

The second part of the form is a sworn statement. I could not help but laugh as I read through the questions. They are 12 simple yes and no questions and of course all applicants are warned if they answer yes to any of the questions they will be denied the visa. Many of the questions are quite laughable so I am posting the questions here on the blog for everyone to get a laugh out of them.

United States laws governing the issuance of visas require each applicant to state whether or not he or she is a member of any class of individuals excluded from admission into the United States. The excludable classes are described below in general terms. You should read carefully the following list and answer Yes or No to each category. The answers you give will assist the consular officer to reach a decision on your eligibility to
receive a visa.

Except as Otherwise Provided by Law, Aliens Within the Following Classifications are Ineligible to Receive a Visa.
Do Any of the Following Classes Apply to You?

1. An alien who has a communicable disease of public health significance; who has failed to present documentation of having received vaccinations in accordance with U.S. law; who has or has had a physical or mental disorder that poses or is likely to pose a threat to the safety or welfare of the alien or others; or who is a drug abuser or addict.
2. An alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, a crime involving moral turpitude or violation of any law relating to a controlled substance or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities in the past five years; who has been convicted of 2 or more offenses for which the aggregate sentences were 5 years or more; who is coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or commercialized vice or who has
   engaged in prostitution or procuring within the past 10 years; who is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance; who has committed a serious criminal offense in the United States and who has asserted immunity from prosecution; who, while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly carried out particularly severe violations of religious freedom; or whom the President has identified as a person who plays a significant role in a severe form of trafficking in persons, who otherwise has knowingly aided, abetted, assisted or colluded with such a trafficker in severe forms of trafficking in persons, or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities within the past five years.
3. An alien who seeks to enter the United States to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, terrorist activities, the overthrow of the Government of the United States or other unlawful activity; who is a member of or affiliated with the Communist or other totalitarian party; who participated, engaged or ordered genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings; or who is a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State.
4. An alien who is likely to become a public charge.
5.  An alien who seeks to enter for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor who has not been certified by the Secretary of Labor; who is a graduate of a foreign medical school seeking to perform medical services who has not passed the NBME exam or its equivalent; or who is a health care worker seeking to perform such work without a certificate from the CGFNS or from an equivalent approved independent credentialing organization.
6. An alien who failed to attend a hearing on deportation or inadmissibility within the last 5 years; who seeks or has sought a visa, entry into the United States, or any immigration benefit by fraud or misrepresentation; who knowingly assisted any other alien to enter or try to enter the United States in violation of law; who, after November 30, 1996, attended in student (F) visa status a U.S. public elementary school or who attended a U.S. public secondary school without reimbursing the school; or who is subject to a civil penalty under INA 274C.
7. An alien who is permanently ineligible for U.S. citizenship; or who departed the United States to evade military service in time of war.
8. An alien who was previously ordered removed within the last 5 years or ordered removed a second time within the last 20 years; who was previously unlawfully present and ordered removed within the last 10 years or ordered removed a second time within the last 20 years; who was convicted of an aggravated felony and ordered removed; who was previously unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year who voluntarily departed within the last 3 years; or who was unlawfully present for more than one year or an aggregate of one year within the last
   10 years.
9. An alien who is coming to the United States to practice polygamy; who withholds custody of a U.S. citizen child outside the United States from a person granted legal custody by a U.S. court or intentionally assists another person to do so; who has voted in the United States in violation of any law or regulation; or who renounced U.S. citizenship to avoid taxation.
10. An alien who is a former exchange visitor who has not fulfilled the 2-year foreign residence requirement.
11. An alien determined by the Attorney General to have knowingly made a frivolous application for asylum.
12. An alien who has ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people; who has directly or indirectly assisted or supported any of the groups in Colombia known as FARC, ELN, or AUC; who through abuse of a governmental or political position has converted for personal gain, confiscated or expropriated property in Cuba, a claim to which is owned by a national of the United States, has trafficked in such property or has been complicit in such conversion, has committed similar acts in another country, or is the spouse, minor child or agent of an alien who has committed such acts; who has been directly involved in the establishment or enforcement of population controls forcing a woman to undergo an abortion against her free choice or a man or a woman to undergo sterilization against his or her free choice; or who has disclosed or trafficked in confidential U.S. business information obtained in connection with U.S. participation in the Chemical Weapons Convention or is the spouse, minor child or agent of such a person; or who has ever engaged in the recruitment of or the use of child solders.

I found many of the questions quite amusing. I am curious as to how many people would honestly answer yes to any of those questions, especially knowing it will disqualify them from getting a visa.

I am confident that Anna can answer no to all those questions so I am sure she will not have a problem.
Anna will call the embassy tomorrow and try to schedule the interview.