Fingerprinting update
TSA's own helpdesk is a contradiction in terms, staffed with people whose intelligence ranks among the lowest of any federal agency, so after some digging around I managed to speak to a TSA attorney who has responsibility for the Alien Flight Training program. He tells me that TSA should be rolling out a plan to allow fingerprinting abroad within the next 4 - 5 weeks. Not, it must be stressed, at US Embassy's, but through private organizations like NATA, etc. This should help clear the paperwork obstacles prior to students travelling.
I asked him why the State Department couldn't do this through their chain of Embassy's but it seems there's a political tug of war going on. You'd have thought 3 1/2 years after 911 that federal agencies would share information but obviously not!
Embassy's check a number of databases when reviewing visa applications but not the ones that TSA check - a bizarre way to organize national security.