Fingerprint Bureaucracy

Who knew that getting your fingerprints taken could be such a hassle?? Mark and I showed up at our local Homeland Security Office a half hour before our scheduled appointment today, hoping that would help us get through the line we'd heard about and back to work by lunch. There wasn't just one line...we had to wait in three separate lines for 3 hours before we finally had the opportunity to roll our fingers over a digital scanner. Unfortunately, it may have all been a waste of time for me. Apparently my fingertips are dry (probably due to the 30 degree weather) and the woman who took my prints said, "Are you getting retakes?" "No, why?" I replied. "Oh, because your fingers are really dry and the FBI is probably going to make you come back in for a second try." No way! I asked her if I should put some lotion on my fingers and try them again then. "No, our machines don't like lotion!" Get out! So there I was, no luck...3 hours down the drain for me. Mark's went off without a hitch. Maybe the FBI will have mercy on me (LOL!) and I'll slip through the system undetected. Or maybe, I'll get to spend another 3 hours at Immigration Services, weaving in and out of lines of bureaucracy another day. At least it's all for a good reason.