Fingerprints!

We finally went to have our fingerprints done! It was a long wait (which should have been shorter) – but the timing was perfect. Busy days were over – and we both had the day off of work.

After hearing some stories about the very strict rules in the fingerprinting office, we didn't know what to expect. But we just followed the rules we were given: bring your ID and fingerprint form, no purses or cell phones. We were prepared. The security guard had us line up outside the door to check our id and paperwork. It felt a whole lot like airport security. There were about 10 of us outside the door at 8 am, and only about 4 people (us included) had “obeyed” the rules. I'm a stickler for the rules most all the time – and this time it really paid off. The guard was a little gruff with the “rule-breakers” - but was nice and friendly with me and Daniel, even joking around with us!

Getting the fingerprints was pretty interesting too. The technician just rolled each finger on a pad and it appeared up on the computer screen. And it would tell you if it was a good print or a “match failed” one. The technician also was joking around with us. She had both of our forms – which have our birthdays on them. And she and the other technician enjoyed laughing about how our birthdays are back to back, and how we should never forget! It was so relaxed and fun. I was laughing a lot. Not what I had expected from the stories that I had heard.

Thank you all for your prayers that this step would go smoothly. Our request now is that the fingerprints would be processed quickly and that CIS/Homeland Security would sent us the approval form that has to go into our dossier.

We are one more step closer to the actual countdown to China!