US Police Certificate

[czhi]

Dear CFL, thanks for the responses on my previous posts. Got one more question, hope someone can provide me some advices.

 

I lived in Colorado from Aug 2000 - Oct 2002 on F1 (Student) visa. Do I need a police certificate for that period of time? If so, where should I send my request to? And any idea how long it might take for me to get the certificate back?

 

Thank you!

[Randy W]

If you have been asked to get one, you may need to apply to EACH jurisdiction (federal, state and local including the FBI for a Federal certificate). You would supply a set of fingerprints, which can be taken in China.

I'm going to guess, though, that whoever needs one will get it directly, rather than asking you. China may require you to get it yourself.

This is for your visa?

[czhi]

Sorry for the confusion This is for my green card application. I am a Chinese citizen, and applying for 1R-1 visa. I'm now gathering material for the interview in GZ, including the police certificate. I wonder if I need to get one from the US since i lived there for 2 years.

[Randy W]

Sorry for the confusion This is for my green card application. I am a Chinese citizen, and applying for 1R-1 visa. I'm now gathering material for the interview in GZ, including the police certificate. I wonder if I need to get one from the US since i lived there for 2 years.

 

 

That's what I figured - have you been asked to get a police certificate? The State Dept. will usually do this themselves.

 

My wife was asked to get one from the City of Houston, since they had rejected her fingerprints. We had to go downtown ourselves.

 

Dan will probably be able to tell us where it explicitly states that you do not need to get them from U.S. jurisdictions for visa applications.

 

This is probably the applicable statement for your situation (although it's from the London embassy)

 

Present and former residents of the United States should NOT obtain any police certificates covering their residence in the U.S.

 

[czhi]

I wasn't asked to so. I just submitted DS-260 this week and is waiting for GZ to send me the instruction package. I saw police certificate was on the list from the consulate website, and thought that every applicant would need one. Would GZ specify in the package from which country the police certificate is required?

[Randy W]

I wasn't asked to so. I just submitted DS-260 this week and is waiting for GZ to send me the instruction package. I saw police certificate was on the list from the consulate website, and thought that every applicant would need one. Would GZ specify in the package from which country the police certificate is required?

 

 

The police certificate is required from every country you have lived in for more than six months (or is it a year?). You are NOT required to submit one from the U.S.

[dnoblett]

Note: Present and former residents of the United States do NOT need to submit any U.S. police certificates.

 

Important: Police certificates expire after one year, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued.

 

For country-specific guidelines on how to obtain a police certificate, review the Country Documents section at Reciprocity by Country.

 

Unobtainable police certificates

 

If your police certificate is unavailable per the country-specific guidelines above, you do not need to submit one to the NVC. If you cannot obtain a police certificate for another reason, please submit a written explanation when you submit your other documents.

 

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

 

The above also applies to DCF cases and the consulate document request.

 

Note examples of unobtainable certs are UAE, and Holland as well as many other countries, the reciprocity table above details what to do to get police certs from various countries.

[czhi]

Thanks Randy & Don. I guess i just wasn't sure whether "Present and former residents of the United States" include people who was on student visa previously.

[dnoblett]

Thanks Randy & Don. I guess i just wasn't sure whether "Present and former residents of the United States" include people who was on student visa previously.

Technically a student visa holder is not considered a "resident" unless they somehow had a green-card. Student visa holders tend to be considered visitors.

[Randy W]

 

Thanks Randy & Don. I guess i just wasn't sure whether "Present and former residents of the United States" include people who was on student visa previously.

Technically a student visa holder is not considered a "resident" unless they somehow had a green-card. Student visa holders tend to be considered visitors.

 

 

"Resident" here refers to anyone who LIVED in the U.S. Police reports ARE needed, but they will be gathered by the DHS directly where needed, regardless of your immigration status.

 

Green card holders are referred to as "permanent residents" - or, yes, simply as "residents" in some contexts.

 

"Residency" takes on many different meanings in the legal sense - e.g., for tuition, voting, or tax purposes - depending on what context is being discussed.

 

Regardless, the upshot here is that nothing is needed from you regarding your stay in the U.S., unless requested. Yes, the statement DOES apply.

[czhi]

Phew! What a relief! Don & Randy, again thanks for the detailed explanation.