FINGERPRINTS

There was a letter in the mail today from the Department of Homeland Security. It was a notice for Allen and me to "appear at the application support center... to capture our biometrics." In case you are interested, in Webster's New World Dictionary the word biometrics means "that branch of biology which deals with its data statistically and by mathematical analysis." It's just a fancy way of saying that we need to get another set of fingerprints for immigration services. We were expecting this notice because just a few weeks back we received a notice saying that we would receive another notice instructing us to go and capture our biometrics. All of this means that the US Citizenship and Immigration Department is doing their job to process the next step in our paperwork. All is good. In case you didn't know, we have already been fingerprinted for our initial background check. One chilly day in February, Allen and I made a trip to the Cambridge Police Station to get our first set of prints taken. Unfortunately, one of us failed the test and had to be re-fingerprinted several times. That would be me. This required another trip to Edina where a "fingerprint professional" tried again. She took a lot of time with me, made three separate prints and seemed quite sure that I would pass with no problems this time. Sure enough, I failed again! One might wonder about my sordid past, but the truth is, I have washed SO many dishes and changed SO many diapers... and basically worked my fingers to the bone that my prints have become very hard to read. (You can believe that if you want!) Anyway, after several weeks of waiting, I finally passed my background check. The delay probably set us back a few weeks. It did make me wonder how REAL criminals pass background checks. I think my only run-in with the law has been because of a fast moving car! Needless to say, I am a bit anxious about going through the whole process again. Our biometric date is June 4 and I plan on slathering on the lotion in the next few weeks to make my hands as soft (and readable) as possible. Please pray that all will go smoothly and that I will pass with flying colors!