Biometrics Appointment: A Firsthand Account of Fingerprinting at the Atlanta USCIS Office (2)
Biometrics Appointment: A Firsthand Account of Fingerprinting at the Atlanta USCIS Office (2)
ByAttorney Jeff Zhengquan Xie
At that moment, the sign on the wall showed that the number being called was 586. My number was 631. I counted and found there were about 10 fingerprinting workstations available—but only two of them were staffed. In other words, only two officers were conducting fingerprint collection that day! It seemed I was in for a long wait, given that just two people were processing all the applicants.
During the wait, I worked on this article on my phone. However, at 12:17 p.m., I noticed that one more fingerprinting officer had come on duty. The processing speed then picked up significantly.
I felt a great sense of relief. Meanwhile, I saw more people walking in through the entrance.
By 12:40 p.m., the sign on the wall showed that my number—631—was being called! A staff member gestured for me to enter the workstation, collected my appointment notice and the form filled out by the officer who had assigned me the number, then instructed me to sit on a chair for a photo first. After that, I was directed to the computer to have my four left-hand fingers and thumb scanned, followed by my four right-hand fingers and thumb. Finally, I signed my name. The staff member then handed me a comment card-like form. I stepped outside, filled out a positive review on the card, and then left. The entire process—from taking the photo to fingerprinting—was completed in just two minutes!
As I walked out the door, I glanced back at the hall and saw that it was still packed with people waiting for their fingerprinting appointments.
Outside, I found that a long line had already formed with people holding appointment slips for the 1:00 p.m. slot.
The fingerprinting process itself only took two minutes, but the waiting time stretched to a full two hours! This firsthand experience left me with several personal takeaways:
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The ASC in Atlanta handles a heavy daily workload of fingerprinting and is always bustling. Nevertheless, the staff members are all very friendly. Chances are, most of them are immigrants themselves.
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Given the inevitable wait in line, anyone who receives a biometrics appointment notice is advised to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early and join the queue.
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However, do not arrive too far ahead of your scheduled time. Two people ahead of me showed up more than an hour early, and the staff informed them that their appointment slot hadn’t come up yet, asking them to wait in the hallway outside.
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Be sure to bring a paper copy of your biometrics appointment notice—even a photocopy is acceptable—because the staff will need to sign and stamp it. Digital copies on your phone are not valid.
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Make sure to bring your passport and other valid identification documents, and they must be original copies; photocopies will not be accepted.
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Allocate at least two hours of your time to complete the entire fingerprinting process.
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In reality, this fingerprinting procedure shouldn’t have to take two hours at all. It’s unclear whether it was a deliberate arrangement or a result of understaffing, but only two out of the ten fingerprinting workstations were operational initially! Once a third staff member started working, the processing speed improved significantly. One can only imagine how much time could be saved if all ten workstations were running at the same time!
End of Article
The above overview is prepared by XIE LAW OFFICES,LLC. to provide legal information to the Chinese community. It is primarily for academic discussion purposes and does not constitute legal advice on specific cases. If you already have legal representation, please consult your own attorney, who is familiar with the details of your case. Clients of Xie & Associates Law Firm, as well as readers who have not yet retained legal counsel, may contact Attorney Xie for specific legal questions. If you wish to reprint this document, please do so in full without any deletions, and clearly indicate the source.
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