Monday, November 07, 2005
This irks me...
...that when you go for a US Visa appointment the first step in the process is finger print scanning, and that you are called for an interview only thereafter. This would mean that even before the officials in the Consulate decide on whether or not they will give you the visa, your finger prints are already captured. That would further mean that the US government has a record of many Indians' finger prints, some of who may never visit the US or some of who may never get a chance to do so. Is that fair? Why should an alien government have the finger prints of citizens of another country? And why is the Indian government not protesting? Ideally, I believe finger printing should be done at the port of entry. If that cannot be so, isn't it at least right that it be done after the decision on Visa approval is taken? If you ask me, the Indian government should also introduce the same procedure for all Americans planning to visit this country - not to teach them a lesson, but to let them understand how indignant this can make one feel.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
The Brazilians are smart, in retaliation they fingerprint all American visitors. No one else, just the Americans.
The US Immigration also does a retina scan when you arrive. The colour of our skin does'nt help. I was singled out (amongst a crowd of teenagers returning from a Young Catholic Conference) and my laptop was searched for chemical weapons!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, Sanskrit was compulsory in my school from classes 6 to 8. I chose Sanskrit as my second language over Hindi in class 9 on even though I was equally bad in both. I rationalized that pretty much everyone would have a tough time with Sanskrit whereas Hindi would be a more uneven field. I remember very little though. I should really brush it up.
Never had any dealings with the US embasy. I admire the Brazilians for what they did.
[Red] You are right; that is a real smart move by the Brazilians. I do feel we should do something similar too. I don't see why the rest of the world feels the need to bow down to the Americans? Laptop searched for chemical weapons!!! Wow! How much more weird can this get!
[Mridula] I am one with you. Admire the Brazilians for what they did.
mridula: I agree with you (^!^)
http://rajeshrana.blogspot.com/
I agree with the comments on finger-printing! I like your writing Emma!
However, I've always faced more hostility by immigration/security officials while travelling in Europe than I do in the US.
It seems to me that the US has strict visa issuance procedures, but once you get the visa you don't encounter many problems while travelling.
European countries --UK, Netherlands etc -- scrutinize you at the time of visa issue and much more aggresively when you enter the country -- to the point of asking for proof of financial support etc.
Thoughts anyone?
[continental drift] Thanks. I have never been to Europe so I can't really say from experience. But within the US too things have got worse since 9/11. You may not be harrassed for proof of financial support etc, but you are singled out because you are an asian!
[rajesh] Thanks for visiting.
[mridula] Thanks yet again for your hat tip. Yes, I will write to you tonight.
Emma, I am removing my email comment now. Good to hear from you.
I was curious about this process, so I looked it up. The fingerprints of ALL non-US citizens are taken before granting a visa because a check for any criminal history in the US is run. "Criminal history" can be something as simple as overstaying a previous visa. Why that's not done by all countries, I don't know. I couldn't find any mention about whether the fingerprints are kept on file or not.
As far as implementing fingerprinting for Americans only for "retaliation" purposes or whatever, you're confusing the average American with the American government. Despite it being a democracy here things like "security measures" don't show up on our voting ballots.
Anyway, I don't know why all countries don't have the same security procedures. I'm sorry it makes you feel singled out.
[lilyb] Firstly, even though the US claims this is a world-wide program, it is not really so. Citizens of Canada and 27 other countries are not forced to undergo fingerprint scanning.
Besides, the point of this post was not the finger print exercise itself, which has been debated a lot since it has been introduced. It was about the way it is done. You have fingerprint scanning and then you have the Visa interview, which is when the Consulate official decides whether or not he/she should issue you a visa. Why isn't the scanning done after the official decides to give you a Visa? It should be the last step in a visa approval/denial process, and not the first.
And no, I am not confusing the average American with the American government. I am aware that a lot of average Americans do not necessarily share the government views. In fact, I am not even questioning the fingerprint scanning policy; I am only protesting the manner in which it is done. I don't feel singled out. What irks me is that the consulate collects the fingerprints of even those who are refused a visa.
yeah, i say we fingerprint the yanks ... and no electronic stuff - regular inkpad and paper :)
like your blog Emma. cheers!
Clearly, this is provoking.
However, I must assert that the racism in the West world's outlook towards Asians has always existed. More often than not, it is the color of the skin that forms the basis of prejudice. The situation has only worsened after 9/11. It is more open now.
On America, U2's Bono said something that often comes to my mind. Allow me to quote him here- "America both fascinates and frightens me.I cant get it out of my system".
Emma, I wanted to reword my comment because originally wrote it when upset. It bothers me when I see people use prejudice against others to argue against prejudice directed at themselves (not that I'm pointing my finger at you). You're correct that there are a small number of countries that fall under some sort of visa waiver guidelines and unfortunately India isn't one of them, although I can't see why not.
I don't mean to say you shouldn't feel the way you do, only to point out why fingerprints are taken before the Visa is granted and not after. Fingerprints are the means by which "criminal" activity is recorded in the United States. If that sort of activity is found, you will be denied a Visa. Would you rather be denied entry into the US before or after you've gone to the trouble and expense of flying there? As I mentioned before, what they call criminal activity can be a simple as overstaying a previous visa. My mention of you feeling singled out was a quote of what you said in an earlier comment, not a conclusion I reached on my own.
Every ethnic or cultural group on earth has prejudice directed at them from some other group. Unfortunately, a few loud individuals can give the impression that everyone feels as they do. Thanks to events over the last several years, many of those committed by my own government, it has become more hazardous to travel as an American, simply because the average American is tarred by the same brush as our government, whether we support it or not. I chose India to visit soon, precisely because the culture and heritage there is so different from what I know and I want to experience it. I hope that the people I meet will judge me by my character and not my nationality.
[saltwater blues] Thanks
[truman] I agree with you on both - One cannot really ignore America or get it out of one's system. And yes, racism has always existed; in fact, I would say that to a certain extent we Indians are racists too - it becomes evident from our preference for the "fair" skin. Yet, I can also say this from experience - I have been in the US for 1.5 years, and to a large extent in your day-to-day interactions with the immigrants, Americans are very courteous.
[lilyb] You are right - it doesn't make sense to take the trouble and expense of flying all the way there and being denied an entry into the country. But from what I saw during the process, fingerprints were not immediately considered for issue of a visa. The first step still seemed to be the Visa official's discretion. And I do think that fingerprints should be captured after that initial decision about the visa approval has been taken. That is my only point about this whole post.
It is true that a lot of Americans in the past few years have been targetted because of the American government policies. Let me assure you that is not the intention of my post. I have a lot of Americans as my friends, and I know they don't necessarily share the government's views. I judge them by their character, and I can assure you the people you meet in India will also judge you by your character. In fact, I can say with some amount of confidence that your nationality is very unlikely to come into picture. I do hope you have a wonderful trip when you visit my country.
Post a Comment