Eczema on Fingers - problem with US entry?
 

Don't know whether any of you suffer with this, but I'm worried about entering the U.S. since they've introduced the finger printing. I suffer from Eczema on my hands and my fingers are scarred with cracks and wrinkles from previous damage. I also have a flare up on my left hand which means the skin is damaged, cracked and flaking. Probably the wrong forum for this question, but thought I'd post anyway. Thanks. Sue

Hi Sue

one of my colleagues at work has pretty bad eczema and she's gotten into the US and did the whole 'fingerprint' malarky without a hitch.

LSL

Not at all. I am a fellow Eczema sufferer. Fortunately it no longer appears anywhere obvious however between the ages of 12 and 18, the backs of my hands were covered in it.

My hands still bare the scares of it including my index fingers which are used for the finger printing. The system seems to read mine with no probs. I wouldn't imagine any problems - I never had it where my finger prints actually are located, more on the tops of my fingers.

I am sure they have come across this problem already, maybe your middle finger could be used instead. However, they must offer alternatives, as of course, some may not have hands.

Knowhere have I ever read it say you must have fingers to enter the US. So I wouldn't worry.

Actually, there is a Bill Bryson tale where he relates one of the more stupid aspects to US Bureaucracy...a man who married an American lady and tried for years (and is, probably, still trying) to get his green card, social security number et al. In short, to become an American citizen. The poor guy had only seven fingers (1 thumb and 2 fingers lost in an industrial accident).

Every time he sent in his forms with his fingerprints, they were sent straight back because he'd not supplied all 10 prints required. No matter who he spoke to, or what he did, his application was rejected...

Now why am I not surprised!!

I'll keep my horrible fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, I think my prints are pretty damaged. Do they re fingerprint you on the way out? If they do mine may have changed due to itching and weeping! I'm going to really try and get this under control before we go - but it's aggrevated by stress, and I'm stressed about it!! Sue

My brother has pretty bad eczema that is visible on his hands, arms and forehead and he had no trouble getting into the States on 2 occasions this year. :)

No. There are plans to start scanning on exit, but even then it is merely to take a record, not to do a direct comparison. I really don't think this will be a problem for you.

There are self-service exit scans at PHL, at least if you have a visa.

Other airports:

True, but at least at ORD Terminal 1 (where I have encountered these) they are used by all of around 10% of the passengers. Terminal 3 sometimes has INS officers with mobile terminals checking everyone at the gate, but it seems a cursory check and to the best of my knowledge they do not cross check on the spot with the record they got on entry (they have a hard enough time just capturing the data!).

The airline needs to get the flight out on time and the machines are often in less than entirely obvious locations! I have only seen them insist with passengers on visas. This is (and remains) a trial programme only.

Very true. I only did it (and I do have a visa) because I had some hours to wander around the terminal, noticed a machine and got talking to an official. Not obvious.

An interesting observation re INS here - on my last trip to the US, which was the first since scanning came in and my first on the new passport - the agent asked me when I was last in the US. I got this wrong (forgot about a trip in March '04) but he obviously couldn't tell.

Suspect therefore that the database looks at..

1) Passport data (name, DOB, passport #)
2) Your photo
3) Your fingerprints

Sue - don't worry about it! The first trip will be fine and then on any subsequent trips they'll have your photo in the database against the name etc. As others have stated, a genuine inability to read the prints will have been accounted for and many folk in similar situations must have already visited the US...

theres something here called the Americans with Disabilites Act- applies to anyone on U.S. soil- thanks to our constitution. anyway, sometimes just uttering those 3 words- Americans with Disabilites Act will make sh*t move, thats how scary it is to be in violation. Any problems, that's worth a try.

Sounds like it's more potent than the U.S. constitution which, as I recall, the Supreme Court has ruled does not protect non-U.S. citizens held on U.S. sovereign territory (ie Guantanamo). :eek:

I agree that the US government is pretty good at looking after the rights of the disabled, and that from a PR perspective would never do anything that would look bad from that point of view. I really think the original poster has nothing to worry about.

However, people arriving in the US are technically made to sign their rights away (including the right to an appeal!) when they sign the green I94W forms that you will see non-US citizens from visa-waiver countries carrying around.
I have never seen or heard of anyone I know encountering problems that would make them want to appeal (apart from the famous example of Cat Stevens!).

My partner has exzema very similar to how you've described yours and has entered the USA 3 times within the past year without ever encountering a problem, or it even being raised as an issue.
Hoping to reassure you, I will stress that the exzema on his fingers and hands is rather severe, enough to need a medicated wipe afterwards to stop him from picking up something nasty from the ink.