Biometrics Done!

We made it to the immigration office 2 minutes before our actual appointment time, even with the 635 North ramp closed. This doesn't happen often in the Scheele family. The immigration office is located in an older part of Dallas down by Bachman Lake. There are a lot of older & beautiful homes, however, the office we wandered into was a hole in the wall with no signage on the outside. There were a few words on their windows, but they were very small, or maybe it was just mine and Rob's eyes! Rob decided that they paid cheap rent.

Upon entering, the process ran rather smoothly, that was until it was my turn. We each filled out additional paperwork and were then given a number. We were directed to the next room to have a seat until it was our turn. Rob was taken right away by an older lady. You could tell she knew exactly what she was doing. I had a seat until they, the workers, decided whose turn it was to take the next person in line. I then heard one lady say to a timid girl sitting at a desk, "you are going to have to do it sometime, you might as well get this one." Oh great!!! She gets up from her desk and walks over to me, she takes my paperwork and mumbles for me to follow her. I became a little concerned, okay, a lot concerned when I realized that I had gotten a new employee. It was quite apparent that she was not welcomed in this office. My heart felt for her and I began talking to her, trying to make conversation. She would answer me, but with only one or two words. It took her awhile to get my prints, and she had to repeat some of the prints 3-4 times. This may be common. It did bother me that she never cleaned the glass where my fingers were placed, however, she did clean my fingers. After every print, it came up "Matched Warning" with a number such as "66". I think the highest number was "72". I wanted to ask her what this meant, but I wasn't sure that I would get a knowledgeable answer. After finishing, she told me that I could have a seat and she would have someone come over and check her work. I have to admit that I was still concerned at this point, but kept reminding myself that the Lord was in total control of this situation. She then yelled something like "CA" or "GA" and went to take a seat. The lady who took care of Rob walked over and looked over the computer screen and said, "OK" and walked off. She then got up and told me that I was finished.

Feeling relieved that this was behind us and we were one step closer; Rob began asking me how it went. After expressing my concerns, he continued with his questions. "Did you see your prints and were they clear?" "Yes", I replied. Then he asked if another screen popped up with reversed colors and show the word "Passed" on the screen. "No, I didn't see this!" I told him that mine only showed "Match Warning" with a numeral below. He didn't remember seeing this on his and my screen never changed color either. Oh great!!! I then again had to remind myself that the Lord was in total control!

We now have to wait up to 3 months for clearance by Immigration/Homeland Security before we can have everything translated, sent to China, and receive a LID (log in date).

What a long process...we'll keep you posted!