Visa Process to Include 10 Fingerprints

4 December 2007
 

10 print scanner

On December 10, 2007, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the U.S. Consulate in Krakow will begin collecting ten fingerprints as part of the non-immigrant and immigrant visa application processing.

This change will bring the Embassy and Consulate into compliance with the State Department’s worldwide deployment of 10-print systems for all immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants.  The program will be completed in all U.S. Embassies and Consulates by December 31, 2007.

On average, the change in the fingerprint process will require a minute or two longer than the current two-print collection process.  The Embassy and Consulate anticipate that the additional time to take the ten prints will not significantly change interview wait times.

There is no change in the requirements for who must provide fingerprints at the interview.  As before, applicants for diplomatic or official visa classes, applicants under 14 or over 79 years of age, and medical emergency cases are exempt from the requirement.

The transition to ten prints will enable the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to more effectively process and clear visa applicant fingerprints and screen out applicants who are ineligible due to criminal history records, and meets the standard for biometric screening of foreign nationals coming to the U.S. as established by the Homeland Security Council on June 7, 2005. For more information, please go to: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1336.html#easy1