Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Are you sure that a lie about such illegal drug use, if later discovered by the USG, can no longer be used to undermine the immigration and even naturalization status of persons admitted into the US and/or whose US immigration/citizenship status was adjusted after knowingly falsifying a response to such question during a verbal or written migration/immigration/naturalization application process?
I would say it’s a bad idea to lie and it’s a better idea to stick to the truth or to respond without answering the question. Even as I have no illegal drug use history, my response is “I have no criminal drug use history.” The response of “No criminal drug record” should work for others regardless of their history, as long as there is no criminal record of such use.
So here is the issue that everyone here seems to be dancing around or unclear about. This is about CPB increasingly asking about past marijuana use and using an absurd law to exclude visitors -in many cases permanently from the US. It’s not about being upfront about past documented convictions.
To ask someone whether they have ever used an illicit drug is so utterly absurd. I don’t advocate lying and I am consistently upfront whenever asked. That said, this is a mean-spirited application of another obscure American law (Google “how many crimes does an average American commit unknowingly”.. it makes for a hilarious- and somber- read) that falls under the “moral rectitude” admissibility umbrella- the same one which for decades was used to deny gay people, for example, entry into the US. Yet on any given day there are hundreds of criminals that have raided government coffers abroad who are freely admitted.
This has absolutely nothing to do with keeping criminals out of the US- it is purely a reflection of the the tenor of the times which is nationalistic it’s punitive and petty.
Sudafed is an illicit drug in many countries. As are many prescription medications in the US abroad. Will I tell the officers in the UAE that I used Sudafed for 20 years? No. But then again they aren’t so retrograde as to even pose the question.
Bottom line is use common sense. Have a record? Declare it. Smoked marijuana in college? Unless your a true masochist on a self-destruct mission, don’t. Just my 2 cents.