The travel forms to visit the US ask if people have ever been involved in espionage, at least they did, I'm not aware that it's changed.

You can guarantee the many people who work for intelligence agencies of US allies aren't admitting to that when they travel to the US.

It's all a bit of a game.

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binarymax 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The reasoning for some of these questions is that if you are caught, it’s sometimes easier to charge you with fraud (lying on the form) than the actual thing (such as espionage).

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4gotunameagain 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Wouldn't they need the be able to prove that you are a spy in order to argue that you lied ? In which case who cares about the form ?

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stnikolauswagne 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Thats why I presume its asking about previous engagements, if they catch someone they suspect of espionage, dig into their background and find proof of previous activity they have a clear fraud charge without having to prove their suspicions about current activities.

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xboxnolifes an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Proving you worked for a spy agency is far easier than proving you did spying in actuality. Assuming you didn't get caught in the act.

	▲	bigfatkitten 14 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The fact you worked for an intelligence agency doesn’t mean you were an intelligence officer. You could’ve been a cleaner, or an executive assistant, or maybe you were working as a software developer on the payroll system.

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pbhjpbhj 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

But they're required by laws of their own country to lie, presumably. There are certainly game-like aspects.

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dcminter 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?"

Quite.

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swiftcoder 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Those forms also ask if you've ever been a member of a communist party, and basically everyone over 35 in all of Eastern Europe would have to check that one (they don't, if they want to enter the US)

	▲	selkin 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Every statement in the above comment is wrong: People born in the 90s wouldn’t have a chance to be old enough to belong to any group other than a preschool before the collapse of the Soviet and Soviet aligned regimes. For those who were adults before 1990, while they may have been party members for reasons unrelated to political ideology, it wasn’t as common: in the late 80s, only ~10% of adults in Warsaw pact countries were communist party members. Far from “everyone”. And even if you check that in the DS-160 visa application form, you are allowed to add an explanation. Consular visa officers are very well familiar with the political situation at the countries they are stationed in, and can grant visa even if the box is checked.
	▲	midtake an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Do you mean everyone who was 18 by 1989, or 55 today?