Saturday, December 20, 2008

Biometrics

Some days I don't check the mail. It's been so cold lately that if I'm not leaving the house for another reason I just leave the mail until the next day. If figure it's not going anywhere and as long as no one tries to steal my identity, it should be fine. So the other day, as I gathered two days worth of mail on my way to run errands with the kids, I saw two envelopes from The Department of Homeland Security in the mound I struggled to contain as I walked toward the van. My heart raced.

The last "communication" we had with this department was a notice of receipt of our Application for Immigration/ Orphan Petition. The fine print stated processing time for the application would be three months and by the way do not contact us unless those three months have expired. And yet now, just a couple weeks later they have sent us two letters. Did I mess up on filling out the form? Was there a problem? I tore into the envelope.

The letter was a notice of an appointment to have my biometrics taken at 8:00 AM on Christmas Eve. Of course, biometrics. And so I thought... what is a biometric, exactly? As I drove around running errands and the gears were turning ever so slowly in my brain, it eventually became clear that biometrics were fingerprints. I can do fingerprints. Even at 8:00 AM Christmas Eve, an hour from home, I can do fingerprints.

I was excited. A step forward. The notice said the applicant could call and reschedule. I thought about it for a short moment. No siree Bob. I will take the appointment. Who knows when the next one will come around.

But seriously, are government offices usually open on Christmas Eve? Who knew? In any case, Ben and I will travel to Grand Rapids on Christmas Eve and prove the legitimacy of our Citizenship of the US of A.

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