Deployment of Ten-Fingerprint Biometric
As of December 10, 2007, most immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants in Germany are required to submit ten electronic fingerprint impressions. The electronic fingerprinting process, which is done when applicants arrive for their visa interviews, is done digitally; it is a clean, ink-free procedure. The entire ten-print collection process takes only one or two minutes on average and is only slightly longer than the previous two-print method.
There is no change in the requirements for categories of applicants who must provide fingerprints at the interview. As before, applicants for diplomatic or official visa cases, applicants under 14 or over 79 years of age, and medical emergency cases are exempt from the requirement.
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| 10 Print Scanner |
Please Note: Applicants who are required to be fingerprinted and who have a cut, blister or other temporary skin injury on their fingers may not be issued a visa until their fingers heal and can be fingerprinted.
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 visit: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1336.html#easy1
