new EADs have no fingerprint info

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wac-ed in CA

Registered Users (C)
I received renewed EAD cards today and noticed that while the last EADs (issued Oct '02) had a fingerprint next to the photo, these ones say in a blue box "fingerprint not available".

Is this normal? We filed the same set of docs as last time - photos + others etc -- Are fingerprints pulled from a central database (by A #?) and since ours were done in Aug '02, are about to expire?

anyone else here with similar experience?

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If you go for an iEAD then they will make you give a print of your thumb which they stick on the card. Other than that they usually don't put your finger print on it.

EAD is totally different from the finger printing you do for background checks.
 
that is not correct. In my OPT EAD (when i was on F1) I do have finger print on that and on this one I dont. It does seems that things have changed...
 
And I was hoping to get away with a laconic "Normal"....sigh!

EAD applications no longer require signature cards.
If you have applied for an EAD earlier, you may have filled-in a signature card. There is place for an optional fingerprint on the signature card, and what is required on it is the right INDEX finger impression, if you cannot sign your name. If you signed your name, BCIS does not bother with finger prints for EAD. Some people used to do both signature and roll their FP before sending the card in.

BCIS still makes you sign a signature card AND roll index finger if you go for iEAD.

Perhaps, when you had applied earlier, you had signed a signature card and rolled an FP as well. The FP was not necessary, but will show up, if available. Else card will read "No FP available." If you reapply, without a rolled FP on signature card (or no signature card as it is OK now), renewal EAD will again read "No FP available."

BCIS does NOT pull your FBI FP from a database to stick onto your EAD card.

ADDED LATER: In fact, BCIS does not even store your FBI FPs. Which is why you have to do an FP all over again when (the validity of check on) your FP expires. Did you imagine BCIS thought your fingerprints changed every 15 months? ;)
 
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Even though INS says on their website that signature card is NOT required when applying for a EAD, I got a RFE for exactly the same thing. I had to sign on the attached card and put my fingerprint and send the RFE back. The fingerprint/signature requirement for EAD is confusing, to say the least.
 
yes - last time i had gone in for iEAD and then the regular cards arrived a month later. perhaps thats why they had the FP on the card. this time the cards arrived in about 120 days (WAC-03-167) so no iEAD/FP...

thanks
 
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