Fingerprinting!!!! Fingerprinting???

You won't believe it - but we have to get fingerprinted yet again. No, not in Germany, but in the US. Since we are permanent residents, but don't live permanently in the States right now, we had applied well ahead of our move for a re-entry permit which would guarantee us the possibility to work there. I don't think I will ever do that (unless somebody REALLY wants me), but we thought that it would be nice for the kids to have this opportunity later in their lives. And since we had fought so hard to get the green card, it might be worth keeping it for a bit longer.

Well, we had not heard from the lawyer for quite some time, and now, last week, Werner got an email telling him that all was well on its way and that the fingerprinting could be scheduled. When would we be available?

Werner wrote back that - as we had told them before - we were not planning to come to Austin this year, and could we not do the fingerprinting here in Munich?

Answer: They get this question all the time, unfortunately both Consulates are using different systems, therefore the results are not compatible. If we don't come back within the year, the US might deny our request to keep the green card.

As you know I have been asking myself what happens if customs in America pulls our data. Zillions of fingerprints - which have to match the one we have to give when entering the country?

When I got fingerprinted for my job with the GTHS, I dared to ask this question and the lady looked at me as if I was from another planet and said: "We only keep these fingerprints for about four months - then they are deleted and we need the latest ones, since fingerprints change!"

Now, is there anybody out there who can explain that to me since I had lived under the assumption for 50 years that fingerprints were THE safe identification method to prove who is who -. Or are some people just paranoid?