Thank you for this information! I really hope I won't get bogged down by this.
For anyone likely to find themselves in the same boat, the dermatologist was most sympathetic and supplied copious samples of prescription creams for frequent use, recommended keeping hands out of water (gloves) and nightly intensive applications of vaseline and gloves to sleep in, all in hopes of presenting less cracked-looking fingerprints. I have until Saturday-week for the treatment to work.
Can't help mulling this over, though.
If I get the same pessimistic feedback during the session as I did the first time, perhaps I should take the initiative and go and get my background check done locally and take it to an info-pass meeting? Would they forward it to be associated with my N400? It seems ridiculous to keep waiting the extra month after the second and then maybe the third try, just to find out I could have failed again.
Surely there must be people who have suffered injury and can't get their prints done in the first place. What procedures do they have to follow? Experience, anybody??