Before ITA: visiting the US after FBI criminal check

[jon-son]

Hello,

my story in short: I originally come from Europe, I studied in the US for 5 years, then came back to Europe for 4 years, now applying for PR in Canada.

My EE profile has already been created and my CRS is expected to reach 450 in 4-5 weeks (diplomas evaluation in progress). Given the current lowest scores (430-440 pts), my ITA is almost guaranteed. Acting proactively, I received my criminal check from the FBI a month ago (which was painful due to the fingerprints requirement).

But... now I have an urgent need to visit the US in 2-3 weeks (i.e. before ITA). Can I do this and not jeopardize/invalidate my FBI criminal check? The CIC site reads:

If you need a police certificate from a country or territory and:

• are currently living there, or received the police certificate before leaving, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
• have lived there in the past, the police certificate must be issued after you last lived in that country or territory.

The latter bullet applies here, but If I decide to go to the US mid September (on B1 tourist visa), I would be visiting the country, not living there. Is my thinking correct here? Do they distinguish between living and visiting? Or would I have to re-apply for the criminal check again (which I want to avoid)?


If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.
Jon

 

[andyding13]

Unfortunately, you will need to re-apply for FBI check if you visit the US this Sept. The FBI PCC must be issued after the date you depart from the US.

 

[jon-son]

Thanks. So when exactly could I visit the US without re-applying for FBI check? Can I do this after receiving an ITA? Or only after my PR related paperwork has been submitted? I do not know much about it, so I am not sure what all interim steps are.

Having said that, I am already working on all documents and soon I should be good to go. I know there are 90 days after receiving an ITA for submitting all documents, but what if I submit all of them in just 5 days? Is the following scenario possible:

1. an ITA is issued
2. I submit all documents in just 5 days
3. I sign off my PR application (no more changes)
4. I go to the US (be it 7-10 days after receiving an ITA) ?

Does it have a chance to work like that? Or do I need to wait for someone on the CIC end to review the docs before I visit the US (which presumably takes weeks or months)?

 

[crescent_jam]

Thanks. So when exactly could I visit the US without re-applying for FBI check? Can I do this after receiving an ITA? Or only after my PR related paperwork has been submitted? I do not know much about it, so I am not sure what all interim steps are.

Having said that, I am already working on all documents and soon I should be good to go. I know there are 90 days after receiving an ITA for submitting all documents, but what if I submit all of them in just 5 days? Is the following scenario possible:

1. an ITA is issued
2. I submit all documents in just 5 days
3. I sign off my PR application (no more changes)
4. I go to the US (be it 7-10 days after receiving an ITA) ?

Does it have a chance to work like that? Or do I need to wait for someone on the CIC end to review the docs before I visit the US (which presumably takes weeks or months)?

Hi jon-son,
I can't speak DEFINITELY (I doubt many of us can ), but the supposed reason behind why your police certificates have to be issued after your last date in a country (other than your current country of residence for obvious reasons) is that you could potentially go back and commit a crime, even if you're only there for a few short hours, and the police certificate you submitted won't speak to it. If that's the case, then I would assume that travelling to the US at any point while your application is being processed (and not submitting a new police certificate afterward), could potentially jeopardize your application if it is found out.

Of course, I can't be certain. I would proceed with caution though. My sister's otherwise perfect application was initially turned down because of providing a US police certificate that was issued before her last 4-day vacation there (even though she had evidence that a new police certificate was on its way and just hadn't arrived yet).

If you need to visit the US, it may be better to do it before you obtain a police certificate, and then to wait for travel to the US until after you receive your PR Card...

 

[DelPiero07]

Thanks. So when exactly could I visit the US without re-applying for FBI check? Can I do this after receiving an ITA? Or only after my PR related paperwork has been submitted? I do not know much about it, so I am not sure what all interim steps are.

Having said that, I am already working on all documents and soon I should be good to go. I know there are 90 days after receiving an ITA for submitting all documents, but what if I submit all of them in just 5 days? Is the following scenario possible:

1. an ITA is issued
2. I submit all documents in just 5 days
3. I sign off my PR application (no more changes)
4. I go to the US (be it 7-10 days after receiving an ITA) ?

Does it have a chance to work like that? Or do I need to wait for someone on the CIC end to review the docs before I visit the US (which presumably takes weeks or months)?

You can safely visit the US after submitting your eAPR

 

[jon-son]

Hi jon-son,
I can't speak DEFINITELY (I doubt many of us can ), but the supposed reason behind why your police certificates have to be issued after your last date in a country (other than your current country of residence for obvious reasons) is that you could potentially go back and commit a crime, even if you're only there for a few short hours, and the police certificate you submitted won't speak to it.

Well, I could as well go to Vietnam (which I've never been to) for 3 days and commit a crime there, right?

That's why being so picky about visit dates and police certificate dates simply does not make sense. Thanks for your input though.

And another question that has just come to my mind: how do they know the last day you visited a given country?

 

[jon-son]

You can safely visit the US after submitting your eAPR

Thanks, could you please elaborate on what constitutes "submitting your eAPR"? Is it when I am done with uploading documents ("just 5 days" in my example above), or is it when CIC is done reviewing it?

 

[Arod]

And another question that has just come to my mind: how do they know the last day you visited a given country?

They ask for your travel history. If you lie I guess they will see that in your passport or elsewhere and then you´ll be banned for misrepresentation.

 

[DelPiero07]

Thanks, could you please elaborate on what constitutes "submitting your eAPR"? Is it when I am done with uploading documents ("just 5 days" in my example above), or is it when CIC is done reviewing it?

Uploading the documents isn't sufficient, you must submit your application and pay for the processing fees.

 

[jon-son]

They ask for your travel history. If you lie I guess they will see that in your passport or elsewhere and then you´ll be banned for misrepresentation.

No objection to this rule, but within the European Union passports are no longer required. So no stamps, no border crossing records. But I digress, and my follow-up question is: do they ask for all travel history, ALL COUNTRIES, or just the countries you've declared as "more than 6 months" ?

As I mentioned, for Europeans it is impossible to keep track of all days spent in all EU countries.

 

[mgnlky]

No objection to this rule, but within the European Union passports are no longer required. So no stamps, no border crossing records. But I digress, and my follow-up question is: do they ask for all travel history, ALL COUNTRIES, or just the countries you've declared as "more than 6 months" ?

As I mentioned, for Europeans it is impossible to keep track of all days spent in all EU countries.

Mention all countries you've traveled to and the dates, regardless of time spent in the country. Especially do this for the US, as Canada can easily get the information of when you entered/left. I flew to Canada for a week, drove down to Seattle for 8 hours and still declared it in a LoE because the website won't let you record >24 hour trips.

 

[jon-son]

Uploading the documents isn't sufficient, you must submit your application and pay for the processing fees.

That's what I meant in general, but my question was about who set that time point? Is it me by completing all required steps (docs and fees, etc.), or would I have to wait for CIC to give me some sort a green light ("application received/reviewed"), after which I could travel to the US safely. Thanks.

 

[DelPiero07]

You.

 

[jon-son]

Mention all countries you've traveled to and the dates, regardless of time spent in the country. Especially do this for the US, as Canada can easily get the information of when you entered/left. I flew to Canada for a week, drove down to Seattle for 8 hours and still declared it in a LoE because the website won't let you record >24 hour trips.

What when I know I've been to some country but absolutely no dates available? Better not to mention, or mention and make up dates? They would not be single cases on my list for sure. Lots of traveling by cars and trains, many more than 10 years ago.