Musings for a Wednesday

[NickD 202]

Can say exactly the same thing about fingerprints, a far more appropriate word than biometrics. !320 miles of driving and three lost paydays to have the same thing done three times in a roll!

Let's do some tabulating for the expense. Non-deductible mileage,$772.20 at the IRS rates if you can drive that cheap, $240.00 for fees, lost pay, kind of confidential, but will round that off to a thousand. That's over two thousand dollars just for fingerprints! And at their convenience, not yours.

Can justify it somewhat for your conditional and ten year cards, you get to look at your fingerprint on your card if that turns you on. But what about USC certificate? Can't find that anywhere. FBI isn't that dumb when they brag about solving murder crimes with partial fingerprints over a hundred years old! And if you were naughty, you certainly wouldn't attend your interview, you would be in jail!

Then they take your ten year card away that has your fingerprint on it, so they are actually getting your fingerprint, twice!

Wouldn't be quite so bad if you could deduct this payment to the government, but since all this is paid with post tax dollars, you also paid a good part of this money with federal and state income tax. So your actual cost is considerably higher than that tabulation.

[antda 13]

Hi NickD and Everyone,

I totally agree with the "duplication in fingerprints/biometrics" here too! Likewise, I have to drive a long distance (1-2 hours each way, so about 2-3 hours round trip) to my "non-local" office just to get those done. Added the cost of the actual process itself being done multiple times over the years, gas costs, time costs, and frustration....well...let's just say that...It's a big waste, indeed!

And all for what? Something that can be otherwise done locally, at a police station or something like that, for free or very low cost. Or heck, not even having to do it at all! It's not like someone's fingerprints can change over a lifetime, right (lol..unless they had some plastic sugery or something)? Do it once...that's it....

The USCIS should pick up the tab for the fingerprints, and not have to charge us additionally for them. "You want them, you pay for them", I say. Does it really take $80 just to roll your fingers over some machine for a few seconds? Gee...wouldn't it be great if we all got paid like that?

Lol..sure the fingerprint looks nice on the card...but do I really need it there? I'd rather do without the fingerprints than waste my time and money doing the fingerprints all over again....

And what's the deal about taking away the 10yr green card when one gets citizenship anyways? For goodness sakes, we paid a lot for this card (in money and in time). Shouldn't it be ours to keep as an "I'm sorry souvenir" for having go to through this USCIS ####### of an additional ROC process? Punch a hole, make it invalid, or do whatever else....Taking it away doesn't seem fair at all...Isn't it ours, since we "bought" it?

On that note...they can't take my expired 2yr card away....It's in some landfill site in gosh knows where....

Ant

Can say exactly the same thing about fingerprints, a far more appropriate word than biometrics. !320 miles of driving and three lost paydays to have the same thing done three times in a roll!

Let's do some tabulating for the expense. Non-deductible mileage,$772.20 at the IRS rates if you can drive that cheap, $240.00 for fees, lost pay, kind of confidential, but will round that off to a thousand. That's over two thousand dollars just for fingerprints! And at their convenience, not yours.

Can justify it somewhat for your conditional and ten year cards, you get to look at your fingerprint on your card if that turns you on. But what about USC certificate? Can't find that anywhere. FBI isn't that dumb when they brag about solving murder crimes with partial fingerprints over a hundred years old! And if you were naughty, you certainly wouldn't attend your interview, you would be in jail!

Then they take your ten year card away that has your fingerprint on it, so they are actually getting your fingerprint, twice!

Wouldn't be quite so bad if you could deduct this payment to the government, but since all this is paid with post tax dollars, you also paid a good part of this money with federal and state income tax. So your actual cost is considerably higher than that tabulation.

Edited July 9, 2009 by AntandD

[CanAmCharlotte 0]

When all is said and done, I will have given my fingerprints five times in less than four years: (1) before my original interview at the Consulate at a local RCMP station (I'm a Canadian); (2) at my interview at the Montreal Consulate (this may have been a situation out of the norm); (3) at my POE in Niagara Falls; (4) for ROC purposes; and (5) for naturalization puposes. This seems absurd. Please tell me they don't take them again for a US passport?! I heard (and this may be total hogwash) starting very soon, US Customs Agents will be taking fingerprints of Canadians entering the country. Anybody else heard this? I wish they would do a retinal (sp?) scan instead. I mean isn't this 2009?