Why people laugh at bureaucracy

Ok, so if you’re planning a trip to the US or you *might* be planning a trip to the US, it’s worth speculatively applying for your US Visa Waiver now while it’s still free: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

It’s either the systems analyst or the schoolboy in me, but I find this statement amusing when it is applied to a three year old:

“For third-parties submitting the application on behalf of the applicant, I hereby certify that I have read to the individual whose name appears on this application (applicant) all the questions and statements on this application. I further certify that the applicant certifies that he or she has read, or has had read to him or her, all the questions and statements on this application, understands all the questions and statements on this application, and waives any rights to review or appeal of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer’s determination as to his or her admissibility, or to contest, other than on the basis of an application for asylum, any removal action arising from an application for admission under the Visa Waiver Program. The answers and information furnished in this application are true and correct to the best of the applicant’s knowledge and belief”

I’ll try to slip in the conditions of the US Visa Waiver Program in story-time tonight, just after Bob the Builder and The Wiggles on TV.

Anyone who has completed a US entry form on an inbound flight will know these statements which basically ask if you’re a Nazi, a war criminal or a terrorist and this begs the question; did the recent underpants bomber tick those declarations? (I presume he was too busy setting himself on fire that he neglected to fill out the form). I checked the box in the spirit of the form, but clearly a three year old doesn’t understand all the questions and statements on the application and cannot certify if the statements are true or not… And yes, the form needs to be completed by (or sensibly on behalf of) infants.