This week, for the first time, we had a prompt response to a request made to the USCIS. Having received notice that our applications had been received on Saturday, I phoned them on Monday to make an appointment to have my fingerprints taken and to supply ‘biometric data’. To my surprise, I was able to get an appointment for just two days later.
With Kari in Detroit for the day and the appointment some distance across town, transport looked to be a problem, but thankfully Brandon offered transport and that pressure was relieved.
The process at the INS (they have yet to catch up with themselves and change their signage to USCIS) was straightforward, with a simple form to fill in. The form requested my Social Security Number which I have yet to memorise, but I was informed that it was okay to leave that blank so long as I supplied my alien number.
After a short delay I was called up and my details were typed into a computer attached to the fingerprinting machine. As well as each finger and thumb separately, they also collected group snapshots of the fingers on each hand. Subsequent to that I moved over to another machine where my details were once again typed in (playing to my suspicions that the USCIS has yet to catch up with networking and database technology) and a digital photograph was taken of me.
It turns out that ‘biometric data’ is in fact a digital photograph that is somehow encoded and then can be compared quickly with a photograph taken at a port of entry. (More on that here)
And then, with time for just one more glance at the wonderful INS TV Network, it was done. And now the waiting begins again…