Police Certificates -- HELP!!

[napoleon12]

"Each visa applicant 16 years or over is required to submit a police certificate from the police authorities of each locality of the country of the applicant's nationarlity or current residence where the applicant has resided for at least six months since attaining the age of 16." -- K1 instruction packet checklist.

 

does he need it for each city? he left his hometown at 15, and has lived in beijing and dalian since then. does he need one from dalian and beijing, or just from his hometown? we have asked the police offices here, they all say that he can only get it in his hometown where his hukouber is. is that right?

 

AHHH! thanks.

Edited January 9, 2006 by napoleon12 (see edit history)

[jim_julian]

If you get a police certificate at the police station in your hukou it covers all of China.

 

On Lao Po's initial attempt she was told by the police that she needed a letter from the US Government requesting this and the police will merely stamp it. Obviously the guy was trying to rip her off or just didn't understand. She will try again later.

[ed and ying]

The police certificate can only be obtained from the place of his household registry or hukou, it will cover all places he has lived in China

[ameriken]

and be sure to have it notarized and translated and the translation notarized by the notary there. notarize notarize notarize

[napoleon12]

i have to have it translated? even if its in Mandarin?

[LeeFisher3]

i have to have it translated? even if its in Mandarin?

180942[/snapback]

Not at all, this goes to the same notary that did the birth records to get the certified translation.

[ameriken]

i have to have it translated? even if its in Mandarin?

180942[/snapback]

The notarial office will do a notarized translation for an additional fee. My SO, did the Police Certificate, Birth record, and no-marriage cert., brought them to the notarial office, and the notarial office did the notarization, as well as the translation, all nicely bound together in one package.

The reason for the translation into English is for GUZ.

In Shanghai, we did extra copies of each, and all total was about RMB 1500 for the whole shebang.

[Guest pushbrk]

i have to have it translated? even if its in Mandarin?

180942[/snapback]

English documents presented to Chinese government must be translated to Chinese.

 

Chinese documents presented to US government must be translated to English.

[napoleon12]

hey i am still really confused about all the translation business. can someone start from the top?

 

i got confused by this sentence in the forms: "All documents not in English, or in the official language of the country in which the application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified English translations." i thought that meant you didnt need translations for anything that was in English or Mandarin. so confused.

 

my husband and i are going to his hometown next week to get the forms. after we get the forms from the little police place there, then what do i need to do with them?

 

thanks all

[frank1538]

hey i am still really confused about all the translation business. can someone start from the top? 

 

i got confused by this sentence in the forms: "All documents not in English, or in the official language of the country in which the application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified English translations." i thought that meant you didnt need translations for anything that was in English or Mandarin. so confused.

 

my husband and i are going to his hometown next week to get the forms. after we get the forms from the little police place there, then what do i need to do with them?

 

thanks all

181449[/snapback]

I would suggest that you get the translations done. You are correct that the OF-169, box 10, states that official language documents are okay, but remember that the OF-169 is a multipurpose form used for several types of visa applications. Be very careful to make sure that this "general rule" hasn't been overridden by a specific instruction somewhere else in the packet of forms.

 

I can't remember specifically, but I recall that during the assembly of the documents by the medical staff after the exam, the clerk ripped apart most of Jingwen's notarial documents, separating the English and the Chinese versions. What I can't remember is whether the clerk inserted just the English version, just the Chinese version, or both.

 

When in doubt, I'd recommend getting the documents translated.

 

Also, keep in mind that, while the OF-169 may say that official language documents are okay, you are dealing with the Department of State. Upon entry into the US, you will be dealing with USCIS with any subsequent filings, and USCIS is very specific about foreign language documents - they MUST be accompanied by a certified translation. It would be a real shame to get by in China with Chinese only documents and come to the US only to find out that you don't have translated copies. It is for this reason that most people go ahead and get several copies of the official documents and also get certified translations.

[ameriken]

My SO said, start at the ¹«Ö¤´¦, which is the Chinese Govt Notarial office in his city. They will direct him on what to do to obtain the certs, and then when that is finished, they will translate and notarize.

 

The consulate wants the police, birth, marriage/single certs in his native language (mandarin, the native language), and then a translation into English (consulate is American govt institution).

 

For a fee, the ¹«Ö¤´¦ will do the whole certs and translation into one nice neat booklet, and will notarize the whole thing. Be sure to get extra copies.

 

But again, start with a phone call to the Chinese Govt Notarial office (¹«Ö¤´¦) in his city and they should get you started! Good luck, I hope that helps !

[napoleon12]

got it! thanks!

[ameriken]

got it! thanks!

181766[/snapback]

Let us know how it works out, PM me if you need to.......good luck !

[david_dawei]

my husband and i are going to his hometown next week to get the forms. after we get the forms from the little police place there, then what do i need to do with them?

181449[/snapback]

I'm assuming you got P3 and want to collect all the documents mentioned in the OF-169...

 

Be aware that you DO NOT need to collect them prior to sending back the P3. You should check off the applicable boxes and send back the P3 documents ASAP. Assuming you are K3, you send back DS-230 part I and OF-169.

 

 

Then you can work on collecting these documents.. which you will not need until the medical exam. Once you get P4, you will get more documents and you will bring them to the medical exam as well...

Edited January 12, 2006 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[Joanne]

My SO said, start at the ¹«Ö¤´¦, which is the Chinese Govt Notarial office in his city. They will direct him on what to do to obtain the certs, and then when that is finished, they will translate and notarize.

 

The consulate wants the police, birth, marriage/single certs in his native language (mandarin, the native language), and then a translation into English (consulate is American govt institution).

 

For a fee, the ¹«Ö¤´¦ will do the whole certs and translation into one nice neat booklet, and will notarize the whole thing. Be sure to get extra copies.

 

But again, start with a phone call to the Chinese Govt Notarial office (¹«Ö¤´¦) in his city and they should get you started! Good luck, I hope that helps !

181458[/snapback]

This is how I had it done. However, Jie (Ameriken's SO) and I are both from Shanghai. The procedure could be slightly different in a different city.