Answering dumb questions on government forms

I had to fill our a foreign contact report for a new gig because my mother is a foreign national.

There was a question that asked

"On what date was your first encounter?"

Uhh, my birthday?

Next question, "Who initiated the encounter?"

Uhh, it was mutual?

Obviously this form was intended to catch any foreign spies that are trying to recruit you, but applied to a foreign national parent it doesn't really make sense.

So I just answered the question with explanatory notes and submitted it.

No big deal.

You'll encounter dumb form questions like this a lot when doing government/sub-contract paperwork. Most are designed for larger companies and are intended to ensure these larger companies comply with the billions of requirements and regulations put in place over the years.

Don't overthink it. You can just answer the question and put N/A. If whoever needs the paperwork has questions they'll get back to you and ask for clarification.

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