11 ms·

The fingerprints in the passport can't do that?

rafram 2mo ago
Most countries' passports don't include fingerprint data. The US passport application process is entirely digital/by mail, for example, with no fingerprinting at all.
- RandomLensman 2mo ago
  EU passports do.
  - mothballed 2mo ago
    The average US border official is a (angry) moron (with a badge and a gun). They've literally fingerprinted me on entry with a US passport because they were too stupid to figure out US citizens don't have to do that. I have been interrogated by CBP to ask if I "work in the country" despite being a citizen. Anything that changes the process from the simplest one-size-fits all will be fucked up, they cannot differentiate the process between foreigner and citizen let alone EU vs some other place. Edit: Every time I share my border stories I get accused of lying or having done something wrong. I have much much crazier ones. No one believes it until it happens to them. Count yourself lucky if you've never been strip searched or imprisoned by these psychopaths, any belief they are reasonable are formed because you were lucky and have a naïve sort of optimism that if you do everything right it won't happen to you.
    - rafram 2mo ago
      > because they were too stupid to figure out US citizens don't have to do that This seems extremely unlikely to me. Did you stand in the noncitizens line by mistake?
      - rawgabbit 2mo ago
        It's called racial profiling.
        koverstreet 2mo ago
        U.S. border agents really are just worse. Much worse. (I can't say what racial profiling adds to that, I can only speak to my own experiences). I've been routinely grilled and extensively searched many times just crossing between the U.S. and Canada - the most hilarious instance being when I was crossing from Yukon Territory back to Alaska some 10 years ago. In Latin America, things are considerably more professional, and the government officials don't act like they hate you and just want you to go away. Europe's fine too.
        kelnos 2mo ago
        > In Latin America, things are considerably more professional, and the government officials don't act like they hate you and just want you to go away. Depends. Someone I know had a terrible experience crossing into Belize on a land border. Was held there for two hours while they "verified" something. Seemed like a power-tripping agent.
        mothballed 2mo ago
        I would characterize Belize as part of the Anglosphere instead of Latin America. Last colonized by Britain as their last European influence on governance and only English as the official language. The anglosphere has the nastiest border controls in my experience.
        lazide 2mo ago
        Maybe (hamfistedly) angling for a bribe to ‘expedite’?
        miki123211 2mo ago
        From what I've heard, Canada is actually a lot worse than the US. I was traveling as part of a party of five (different travel dates, separate ETA filings, no apparent connection). One of us didn't get an ETA. Another got one just before the trip (and it was a 13-year-old child). The rest of us got ours immediately, but I was questioned at the border for 10+ minutes with no apparent reason, and then allowed in without a comment.
    - naravara 2mo ago
      I’m a minority who, despite visually fitting the stereotype of a plane hijacker, have found our passport control people to be nothing but professional and courteous. The overall system seems to be pretty efficient about moving people through, despite the airports I’m going through being out of date and not set up for the volumes of traffic they get. This is a marked contrast to the rest of our immigration, border patrol, and airline security people who are lazy and needlessly aggro as a rule. But if you asked me to trade the passport check experience of entering the US with the experiences I’ve had trying to get into France or Germany I’d pick the US hands down. Especially Frankfurt. WTF are they doing over there?
      - jltsiren 2mo ago
        In my experience, the airports could handle the passenger volume, but they lack the people. I've entered the US 25–30 times, and almost every time, there have been long lines and empty immigration counters.
      - kelnos 2mo ago
        The issue with stories like yours is that they don't really tell us anything. The incidence of racial profiling is low enough that some people, such as yourself, will never have a problem, ever. But that doesn't mean there aren't problems, and that they don't crop up often enough to be something we should be really uncomfortable with letting happen.
    - themaninthedark 2mo ago
      The average US border official is just like the average official(and non-official) anywhere; mostly bored, waiting for their workday to be over so they can go home and do the things that they actually enjoy. Not to say they don't make mistakes or don't fully read/understand their systems. A co-worker was former LEO, had his id stolen at that time. We were traveling back from an a vendor site across the border, the border agent misunderstood the system alert from "double check this guys docs to make sure he is who he says he is" to "Anyone using this id is traveling under a false name!" So he got held and questioned, called his former supervisor, CPB supervisor came and showed him how to get a travel redress number. Amusingly, since we were traveling together, I got his luggage off the carousel and kept it with me as I watched them question him. After some time they decided to look at his bags and came looking for them, I told them I had them and he was with me. They took the bags and didn't even want to speak with me.
      - mothballed 2mo ago
        >The average US border official is just like the average official(and non-official) anywhere; False. CBP is well known as bottom rung in terms of hiring of federal LEO and an employer of last resorts. For example, one of the most prestigious is the Marshals Service, and for instance HSI is typically far closer to "average" or above than CBP is. If you're dealing with something like a DEA or FBI agent that is roughly 'average' and CBP you are roughly dealing with the 'moron' end and roughly the professional and intelligence opposite of the Marshals.
    - mr_toad 2mo ago
      https://content.imageresizer.com/images/memes/Family-Guy-Skin-Colour-meme-9.jpg https://content.imageresizer.com/images/memes/Family-Guy-Ski...
  - rafram 2mo ago
    Not those issued in Denmark or Ireland, apparently [1], though I see other sources saying Denmark does fingerprint now. Most countries don't fingerprint children. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Union#Common_design_features https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Unio...
    - RandomLensman 2mo ago
      Seems like Ireland only currently (looking at the Danish Minstry of Foreign Affairs on passports). And, yes, age threshold for kids.
  - prmoustache 2mo ago
    new ones yes but mine is still valid for the next 2.5 years and doesn't. When passports are valid for 10 years there is always a bit of inertia.
  - ninalanyon 2mo ago
    How do they manage that? Do you have to visit a government office to get a passport? I only have a UK passport and it definitely does not include my finger prints as it was obtained by post.
    - miki123211 2mo ago
      Yes. In fact, you have to do it twice; once to apply and once to receive it. In Poland at least, the queues are often a few weeks long, and you have to book online in advance. If it's summer season and you need to travel soon, you usually have to go to some office in Buttfuckville at the other end of the country to get a reasonable date. Passport office hunting is an established practice for people who need one ASAP. If you're a kid, both of your parents need to be present with you at the appointment at the same time, so they have to coordinate time off work. The fun begins if they're divorced and one lives in a different country. At least, unlike in the UK/US, the process itself is pretty painless. I got mine just after I turned 18 (see above), and all I really needed to do was to go there, bring my ID, fill a single form and give them the fingerprints.
      - rafram 2mo ago
        The process in the US is you open an online form, type in your details, and upload a JPEG of your face! Then you receive a passport in the mail a few weeks later! I would say that is a lot less painful than the Polish process.
        wolvoleo 2mo ago
        Yes but how do they make sure the person receiving the passport is the right one? That's why we have to do both in person.
        rafram 2mo ago
        You give them (a scan of) your state ID, or just send in your previous passport if it’s a renewal.
        2mo ago
buckle8017 2mo ago
There's no fingerprints in the passport. Edit apparently some but not all EU passports do, which is weird.
- RandomLensman 2mo ago
  Which EU passports don't (other than below some age, lack of fingers etc.)? For a while some older ones might not have, but not sure if the expiry would still be long enough? Edit: seems like Ireland is the odd one out (Danemark could, but seems to fingerprint).
  - deleted 2mo ago
    [deleted]
- ExoticPearTree 2mo ago
  Some countries in the EU only issue biometric passports only. And they have your fingerprints in them. Others I imagine issue both types of passports and that's why some people are fingerprinted more often.

Most countries' passports don't include fingerprint data. The US passport application process is entirely digital/by mail, for example, with no fingerprinting at all.

RandomLensman 2mo ago
EU passports do.
- mothballed 2mo ago
  The average US border official is a (angry) moron (with a badge and a gun). They've literally fingerprinted me on entry with a US passport because they were too stupid to figure out US citizens don't have to do that. I have been interrogated by CBP to ask if I "work in the country" despite being a citizen. Anything that changes the process from the simplest one-size-fits all will be fucked up, they cannot differentiate the process between foreigner and citizen let alone EU vs some other place. Edit: Every time I share my border stories I get accused of lying or having done something wrong. I have much much crazier ones. No one believes it until it happens to them. Count yourself lucky if you've never been strip searched or imprisoned by these psychopaths, any belief they are reasonable are formed because you were lucky and have a naïve sort of optimism that if you do everything right it won't happen to you.
  - rafram 2mo ago
    > because they were too stupid to figure out US citizens don't have to do that This seems extremely unlikely to me. Did you stand in the noncitizens line by mistake?
    - rawgabbit 2mo ago
      It's called racial profiling.
      - koverstreet 2mo ago
        U.S. border agents really are just worse. Much worse. (I can't say what racial profiling adds to that, I can only speak to my own experiences). I've been routinely grilled and extensively searched many times just crossing between the U.S. and Canada - the most hilarious instance being when I was crossing from Yukon Territory back to Alaska some 10 years ago. In Latin America, things are considerably more professional, and the government officials don't act like they hate you and just want you to go away. Europe's fine too.
        kelnos 2mo ago
        > In Latin America, things are considerably more professional, and the government officials don't act like they hate you and just want you to go away. Depends. Someone I know had a terrible experience crossing into Belize on a land border. Was held there for two hours while they "verified" something. Seemed like a power-tripping agent.
        mothballed 2mo ago
        I would characterize Belize as part of the Anglosphere instead of Latin America. Last colonized by Britain as their last European influence on governance and only English as the official language. The anglosphere has the nastiest border controls in my experience.
        lazide 2mo ago
        Maybe (hamfistedly) angling for a bribe to ‘expedite’?
        miki123211 2mo ago
        From what I've heard, Canada is actually a lot worse than the US. I was traveling as part of a party of five (different travel dates, separate ETA filings, no apparent connection). One of us didn't get an ETA. Another got one just before the trip (and it was a 13-year-old child). The rest of us got ours immediately, but I was questioned at the border for 10+ minutes with no apparent reason, and then allowed in without a comment.
  - naravara 2mo ago
    I’m a minority who, despite visually fitting the stereotype of a plane hijacker, have found our passport control people to be nothing but professional and courteous. The overall system seems to be pretty efficient about moving people through, despite the airports I’m going through being out of date and not set up for the volumes of traffic they get. This is a marked contrast to the rest of our immigration, border patrol, and airline security people who are lazy and needlessly aggro as a rule. But if you asked me to trade the passport check experience of entering the US with the experiences I’ve had trying to get into France or Germany I’d pick the US hands down. Especially Frankfurt. WTF are they doing over there?
    - jltsiren 2mo ago
      In my experience, the airports could handle the passenger volume, but they lack the people. I've entered the US 25–30 times, and almost every time, there have been long lines and empty immigration counters.
    - kelnos 2mo ago
      The issue with stories like yours is that they don't really tell us anything. The incidence of racial profiling is low enough that some people, such as yourself, will never have a problem, ever. But that doesn't mean there aren't problems, and that they don't crop up often enough to be something we should be really uncomfortable with letting happen.
  - themaninthedark 2mo ago
    The average US border official is just like the average official(and non-official) anywhere; mostly bored, waiting for their workday to be over so they can go home and do the things that they actually enjoy. Not to say they don't make mistakes or don't fully read/understand their systems. A co-worker was former LEO, had his id stolen at that time. We were traveling back from an a vendor site across the border, the border agent misunderstood the system alert from "double check this guys docs to make sure he is who he says he is" to "Anyone using this id is traveling under a false name!" So he got held and questioned, called his former supervisor, CPB supervisor came and showed him how to get a travel redress number. Amusingly, since we were traveling together, I got his luggage off the carousel and kept it with me as I watched them question him. After some time they decided to look at his bags and came looking for them, I told them I had them and he was with me. They took the bags and didn't even want to speak with me.
    - mothballed 2mo ago
      >The average US border official is just like the average official(and non-official) anywhere; False. CBP is well known as bottom rung in terms of hiring of federal LEO and an employer of last resorts. For example, one of the most prestigious is the Marshals Service, and for instance HSI is typically far closer to "average" or above than CBP is. If you're dealing with something like a DEA or FBI agent that is roughly 'average' and CBP you are roughly dealing with the 'moron' end and roughly the professional and intelligence opposite of the Marshals.
  - mr_toad 2mo ago
    https://content.imageresizer.com/images/memes/Family-Guy-Skin-Colour-meme-9.jpg https://content.imageresizer.com/images/memes/Family-Guy-Ski...
- rafram 2mo ago
  Not those issued in Denmark or Ireland, apparently [1], though I see other sources saying Denmark does fingerprint now. Most countries don't fingerprint children. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Union#Common_design_features https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passports_of_the_European_Unio...
  - RandomLensman 2mo ago
    Seems like Ireland only currently (looking at the Danish Minstry of Foreign Affairs on passports). And, yes, age threshold for kids.
- prmoustache 2mo ago
  new ones yes but mine is still valid for the next 2.5 years and doesn't. When passports are valid for 10 years there is always a bit of inertia.
- ninalanyon 2mo ago
  How do they manage that? Do you have to visit a government office to get a passport? I only have a UK passport and it definitely does not include my finger prints as it was obtained by post.
  - miki123211 2mo ago
    Yes. In fact, you have to do it twice; once to apply and once to receive it. In Poland at least, the queues are often a few weeks long, and you have to book online in advance. If it's summer season and you need to travel soon, you usually have to go to some office in Buttfuckville at the other end of the country to get a reasonable date. Passport office hunting is an established practice for people who need one ASAP. If you're a kid, both of your parents need to be present with you at the appointment at the same time, so they have to coordinate time off work. The fun begins if they're divorced and one lives in a different country. At least, unlike in the UK/US, the process itself is pretty painless. I got mine just after I turned 18 (see above), and all I really needed to do was to go there, bring my ID, fill a single form and give them the fingerprints.
    - rafram 2mo ago
      The process in the US is you open an online form, type in your details, and upload a JPEG of your face! Then you receive a passport in the mail a few weeks later! I would say that is a lot less painful than the Polish process.
      - wolvoleo 2mo ago
        Yes but how do they make sure the person receiving the passport is the right one? That's why we have to do both in person.
        rafram 2mo ago
        You give them (a scan of) your state ID, or just send in your previous passport if it’s a renewal.
      - 2mo ago

buckle8017 2mo ago

There's no fingerprints in the passport. Edit apparently some but not all EU passports do, which is weird.

RandomLensman 2mo ago
Which EU passports don't (other than below some age, lack of fingers etc.)? For a while some older ones might not have, but not sure if the expiry would still be long enough? Edit: seems like Ireland is the odd one out (Danemark could, but seems to fingerprint).
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
ExoticPearTree 2mo ago
Some countries in the EU only issue biometric passports only. And they have your fingerprints in them. Others I imagine issue both types of passports and that's why some people are fingerprinted more often.