Last week I needed to get some photographs taken of my fat head. These were to be sent to the US Immigration service. These pictures in paticular needed to be in the ADIT format, which they have to be specific dimensions, and my face will be facing towards the right, just enough to show my right ear. Doesn't sound difficult, right? Apparently it is, as I couldn't even get the woman at the photoshop to take them. Now, I can be understanding, these are precision photos. But this shop is located inside the Pentagon (for those of you who don't know, there are quite a bit of shops inside the Pentagon, including a Taco Bell and TWO Subway sandwich shops) and the last time I checked, it was a US government building. That is why I figured that I could swing by the photo shop after work (I work in the Pentagon, not at the Taco Bell, though) and get this taken care of. I was told otherwise by the photographer. She said that they needed an expert to take them. I was told the same thing from the staff at a store near my apartment. Like I said, I can be understanding.
What made it such a big deal to me was that, across the world, in my wife's country, anyone who had a camera (or knew where to get one) was willing to take these same pictures of my wife, and for a very low price too. Were they able to adhere to the overly strict guidelines established by the INS? Apparently so, the INS accepted her photos without any objection. Maybe I should have taken mine at the same time. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that it would have been just as easy to obtain them in the states.
So maybe its not an issue with the high standards of the INS (they are necessary, after all), or a problem with folks here being lazy. It just might be a problem with the work ethic of those certain individuals. The photographer overseas that snapped my wife's pictures put a lot of effort into getting them right, and didn't ask for any extra cash. And over here, no one is willing to go an extra mile, even for a paying customer.
Maybe I went to the only two stores in town that wouldn't help me. I am going out today to look for a shop that will take care of me. Perhaps I should try to find one owned by foreigners.