# Police Clearance from USA



## kath83 (Jun 25, 2010)

Hi guys..

Need help..

I recently married an Indonesian citizen. My husband lodged his application on the 1st of april this year. 

Everything that is needed from jakarta has been submitted. The only document that the embassy is waiting for now is a Police Clearance fron the USA as my husband lived there for 4yrs before. Thats all fine..Until I read the info on how to obtain this. We have to send an application plus fingerprints on a fingerprint card.. a cheque or credit card details to pay for it ($18US) and send to the FBI headquarters in West Virginia...and wait for it..it can take up to 13 weeks!!! and there is no way to find out the status of your application ( this I may be wrong!)

has anyone experienced this? am I just over reacting! I havent seen my husband for 2 months now!!!


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

kath83 said:


> Hi guys..
> 
> Need help..
> 
> ...


The FBI check is a standard requirement for people who have resided for more than 12 months in the US Kath and yes, I've seen a few posts from people on the forum in regard to the length of time it takes being somewhere of the order you mention.
It is possibly a bit like our ASIO checks and theycan take an awful long time too.


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## LoveDelight (Mar 21, 2010)

I mailed my report out on 4/15/2010 and I recieved the results on 5/25/2010. They give people an estimate of three months. 

I know two months seem like a long time, but it is worth it in the end. I have not seen my SO in 7 months and it will be another 3-4 months before I see him again. I'd just send out the fingerprints ASAP if I were you! Good luck!


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## kath83 (Jun 25, 2010)

LoveDelight said:


> I mailed my report out on 4/15/2010 and I recieved the results on 5/25/2010. They give people an estimate of three months.
> 
> I know two months seem like a long time, but it is worth it in the end. I have not seen my SO in 7 months and it will be another 3-4 months before I see him again. I'd just send out the fingerprints ASAP if I were you! Good luck!


WOW! you got yours pretty quick then.. the only thing im worried about is..them making it hard for us..because my husband is not an american resident..he was there to study..

Did the FBI contact you when they recieved your application?
thanks for your reply...


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## LoveDelight (Mar 21, 2010)

kath83 said:


> WOW! you got yours pretty quick then.. the only thing im worried about is..them making it hard for us..because my husband is not an american resident..he was there to study..
> 
> Did the FBI contact you when they recieved your application?
> thanks for your reply...


No they did not contact me. I sent it certified mail so once the FBI recieved it I got a notification from the post office.

I don't think it will be difficult for your SO. His application will be processed just like everyone else.


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## nighstar (Apr 22, 2010)

i sent mine in on Jan. 28th, 2010 from Japan. it was marked as "received" on Feb. 1st, marked as "returned" on Apr. 1st, 2010 and i received the results in Japan on Apr. 7th.

no, they do not contact you upon receiving your application and there is no way of checking the status. you just have to get your application in ASAP and be patient, sadly.

goodluck.


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## jejuniper (Jul 1, 2010)

Hi kath83,

It took ages (just over two months) for the FBI to process my husband's police clearance last year, and we live only a state away in North Carolina. I don't think it matters where you are from, they just process them in the order they receive them. We had to get two extensions from our DIAC case officer because of the length of time it took. The only way we had of checking whether they were doing anything was to keep checking our bank statement to see if they'd taken the money out - once they'd done that, a week later it arrived.

Hopefull it's a good time of year and yours will get processed quickly!


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## kath83 (Jun 25, 2010)

jejuniper said:


> Hi kath83,
> 
> It took ages (just over two months) for the FBI to process my husband's police clearance last year, and we live only a state away in North Carolina. I don't think it matters where you are from, they just process them in the order they receive them. We had to get two extensions from our DIAC case officer because of the length of time it took. The only way we had of checking whether they were doing anything was to keep checking our bank statement to see if they'd taken the money out - once they'd done that, a week later it arrived.
> 
> Hopefull it's a good time of year and yours will get processed quickly!


Thanks for the info.. yes I hope mine does get processed quickly!!


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## sbjapan (Jul 19, 2010)

*Over 3 months for my FBI clearance*

I really thought I would be proactive on getting my FBI clearance - I knew I'd be in the US in October 2009 (I was lodging my 309/100 application in April 2010), so I got fingerprints done at my local sheriff's office, and mailed them in around October 18, 2009.

They said if you needed to expedite the clearance, to please say so on the forms. I was going to be back in the US during the Christmas holidays, so I asked for the forms back by December 26th, which was two months.

I got my results in February, after sending a letter of inquiry in January. It is now taking AT LEAST 3 MONTHS for most people. When I go from my temp to my permanent visa, I am going to be very proactive again!

Susan


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

sbjapan said:


> I really thought I would be proactive on getting my FBI clearance - I knew I'd be in the US in October 2009 (I was lodging my 309/100 application in April 2010), so I got fingerprints done at my local sheriff's office, and mailed them in around October 18, 2009.
> 
> They said if you needed to expedite the clearance, to please say so on the forms. I was going to be back in the US during the Christmas holidays, so I asked for the forms back by December 26th, which was two months.
> 
> ...


If you are not back in the US for any extended period between TR and PR you may find that you do not need to get a new US FBI check.


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## s003khs (Jan 9, 2010)

I lived in USA for around five years did my bachelors from there and have moved back to Pakistan now. I left United States in 2006 and trying to figure out how to get my police clearance from FBI any ideas how to get it done.
They have no field office in Pakistan where I can get finger printed


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## cjka (Aug 4, 2010)

Go to local police station, try to get finger printed there. Is their form in english? If not, use the FBI form.


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## s003khs (Jan 9, 2010)

cjka said:


> Go to local police station, try to get finger printed there. Is their form in english? If not, use the FBI form.


Thanks for your help i will explore the idea


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## theotherguy (Apr 30, 2013)

nighstar said:


> i sent mine in on Jan. 28th, 2010 from Japan. it was marked as "received" on Feb. 1st, marked as "returned" on Apr. 1st, 2010 and i received the results in Japan on Apr. 7th.
> 
> no, they do not contact you upon receiving your application and there is no way of checking the status. you just have to get your application in ASAP and be patient, sadly.
> 
> goodluck.


Hi nighstar,
I'm new to the forums and realize your last post in this thread was awhile ago but I'm hoping you're still active and can help me out here.
I'm also a U.S. citizen living in Japan and was hoping you could tell me how you went about getting your FBI clearance. I have 4 specific questions.

1. Where did you go to get your fingerprints taken?
2. Which fingerprint card (U.S. or Japanese) did you use to have them taken?
3. Which courier service did you use to mail it in(Japan Post, UPS, FedEx, etc.)?
4. It says on the Australian Immigrations website that "If the results are to be sent to an address outside the USA you will need to make arrangements for the return postage of the results." I'm not quite sure what this means so I'd be interested in finding out how you had your results sent back to you.

Thanks in advance for any advice or information you can give.


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## someuser (Nov 6, 2012)

theotherguy said:


> Hi nighstar,
> I'm new to the forums and realize your last post in this thread was awhile ago but I'm hoping you're still active and can help me out here.
> I'm also a U.S. citizen living in Japan and was hoping you could tell me how you went about getting your FBI clearance. I have 4 specific questions.
> 
> ...


We did ours late last year from Kenya.

1. The local police station.

2. There is a website where you can download the Fbi fingerprint card in a pdf. I still have it on my pc if you pm me your email address I can send it to you. I bought some card stock from the local stationery story and printed the FBI PDF file on that, then I got the local police to fingerprint my wife.

3. We sent ours DHL but it was a waste as the FBI office is very remote and they have to send it through subcontractors. It took longer than it would have to send it registered post. I suggest you send it however is best for you to track it.

4. We were worried about this too but after looking all over thfe internet we discovered you don't need to worry about return postage so we didn't and our results came back to us through regular post without a problem.

I'll also add that I strongly urge you to use credit card to pay using the credit card form on the fbi website. We've had nightmares with FBI returning our application Eg. because the money order was overpayed by 25 cents due to misunderstanding with the money order clerk. It's just not worth the headache.


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

Hi,

I got my FBI check in February this year, it took 4 weeks to get the document in mail. The best way to ensure your application is received and processed is to pay using credit card authorization form. You will come to know when your CC is charged. Also try to provide a USA address if you can to speed up the process. They send the document back in normal mail. So getting it in USA will be much faster than getting it on international address. then you can arrange a speedy delivery from your US contact to your international address.


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## jmcd16 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hey all, are you sure you just need the FBI check and not a state one as well? For applicants applying offshore in USA, we are required to provide both. It might be worth asking if you are unsure so as not to cause further delays.


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## Sarah A (Apr 30, 2013)

Can anyone help me:
My partner also lived in the States....he has a police clearance from that time (4 years ago) would they accept that since its for the time he lived there? or would he need to get a new one as its older than 12 months (even though he hasnt lived there since?)


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

I believe you need to provide them a valid clearance at the time of application. Since the clearance is valid for one year, its better to go for new one.



Sarah A said:


> Can anyone help me:
> My partner also lived in the States....he has a police clearance from that time (4 years ago) would they accept that since its for the time he lived there? or would he need to get a new one as its older than 12 months (even though he hasnt lived there since?)


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Yes, it needs to be a new one. They're only valid for 12 months.


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## KLS2010 (Mar 26, 2013)

jmcd16 said:


> Hey all, are you sure you just need the FBI check and not a state one as well? For applicants applying offshore in USA, we are required to provide both. It might be worth asking if you are unsure so as not to cause further delays.


I think the state checks are only required if the applicant is RESIDENT at the time (ie still in the states), but I could be wrong on that.


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## someuser (Nov 6, 2012)

KLS2010 said:


> I think the state checks are only required if the applicant is RESIDENT at the time (ie still in the states), but I could be wrong on that.


That's correct as far as I understand too. Certainly our CO was happy with just the FBI one and didn't ask for anything else.


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## nighstar (Apr 22, 2010)

theotherguy said:


> Hi nighstar,
> I'm new to the forums and realize your last post in this thread was awhile ago but I'm hoping you're still active and can help me out here.
> I'm also a U.S. citizen living in Japan and was hoping you could tell me how you went about getting your FBI clearance. I have 4 specific questions.
> 
> ...


sorry for taking so long to get back to you. i'll try my best to answer your questions despite my bad memory.

1. i went to the Police HQ in my city.

2. i insisted on using the card printed out from the FBI website and this caused a lot of confusion/ruffled feathers for them. after being very firm about it and accepting all responsibility if something came up wrong (and they insisted upon this as they didn't want to be held accountable for anything re: a foreign card), they finally did the prints on the FBI's card. also, i would highly recommend using the FBI's card as once i used the Australian Police's card on their insistence and it was invalid!

3. i used registered Japan Post.

4. this is where my memory gets really fuzzy.... i think i got a money order from the post office and included it with the application, but given what people have said i'm not sure why i wouldn't have just used the credit card form instead.... if you have a credit card/debit card that can be run as credit, i would probably recommend that instead for the reasons others have stated.

good luck! hope my reply hasn't come too late.


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## someuser (Nov 6, 2012)

1 think you shouldn't waste time trying to do is do the fingerprints yourself. I bought a few stamp pads thinking "how hard can it be?" I discovered pretty quickly the answer to that. The stamp pad ink just doesn't do the job. You just end up with a bunch of smudges. You need proper fingerprint ink that the police use.


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## theotherguy (Apr 30, 2013)

Thanks a lot for your answers. They were very helpful. I had one last question regarding this. On the FBI form there is a space for the signature of the official taking the fingerprints. Did you have someone sign there, and if you did, did they sign in english or in Japanese?


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