fast fingerprints

this is a story about how talome had to to the U.S. embassy to apply for a tourist visa. first he had to make a phone call to make the appointment. cost: $10 phone card for about 2 minutes of airtime. then he went to the appointment and had to stand in line for an extra hour-and-a-half. cost: $100 for the appointment, $5 for parking (extra because he forgot me in the midst of about 100 adopting couples and their guatemalan babies and had to come back and find me only at first they wouldn`t let him back in the building (big scandal about babies, more later)). the guy at the desk told him he needed to get fingerprints because his name was so common. um, no it`s not. so he went back the next day for fingerprints at 3 pm. cost: $85 fingerprints, $2 parking (I didn`t go this time). bingo!! the embassy called the next day at 9 a.m. to tell him that his tourist visa application had been approved. can they really check those fingerprints in 18 hours?