Police certificate from US - digital fingerprinting in Canada?

[InnaBB]

I'm applying for Canadian citizenship. Since I lived in US, I need police certificate from there.
So, I need fingerprints to be sent to FBI.
Reading FBI site, it will take weeks and weeks if submitted in paper form. So, I am thinking about digital(scanning) fingerprinting and submission to FBI.
Called to one fingerprinting company in my city (Vancouver BC) and they said "yes, we do digital, and it will be sent directly to FBI. It will save you time!!". It's expensive, but heck I'm willing to pay to save time.
Called to another fingerprinting company, to see if they can do it cheaper - they said "No, you can't do digital submission from Canada to FBI, at all. Only paper".

I'm at lost now - who is right? Did not want to screw up my citizenship application.
Anyone did digital fingerprinting to FBI to get police certificate? How that work? Given that Citizenship process requires original police certificate, not a copy, and with digital fingerprinting all you get is (I believe) email with attachment.

Please help.

 

[ChippyBoy]

I'm applying for Canadian citizenship. Since I lived in US, I need police certificate from there.
So, I need fingerprints to be sent to FBI.
Reading FBI site, it will take weeks and weeks if submitted in paper form. So, I am thinking about digital(scanning) fingerprinting and submission to FBI.
Called to one fingerprinting company in my city (Vancouver BC) and they said "yes, we do digital, and it will be sent directly to FBI. It will save you time!!". It's expensive, but heck I'm willing to pay to save time.
Called to another fingerprinting company, to see if they can do it cheaper - they said "No, you can't do digital submission from Canada to FBI, at all. Only paper".

I'm at lost now - who is right? Did not want to screw up my citizenship application.
Anyone did digital fingerprinting to FBI to get police certificate? How that work? Given that Citizenship process requires original police certificate, not a copy, and with digital fingerprinting all you get is (I believe) email with attachment.

Please help.

If you're a U.S. citizen or a legal PR of the U.S. then you certainly can go the digital fingerprinting route through an officially-designated 'channeler' and then get your FBI pcc back in hours/days. But if you're in neither of those U.S. immigration statuses, then you'll have to do what I did and submit the paper form by mail (fingerprinting done at a U.S. police station & application sent to the FBI on July 11th; it arrived signed-for in West Virginia on July 14th; it was successfully processed October 12th; & I duly received my all-clear pcc back on October 21st, last Saturday).

 

[InnaBB]

Thank you, Sir!

I'm neither US citizen nor US legal PR anymore (I cancelled my Green Card some time ago, and currently I'm Canadian PR card holder). And I'm not residing in US, I'm living in Canada.

So, from what I've gathered from your post, there is no way I can get fingerprints digitally and my only option is via paper forms by mail. Right?

 

[ChippyBoy]

Thank you, Sir!

I'm neither US citizen nor US legal PR anymore (I cancelled my Green Card some time ago, and currently I'm Canadian PR card holder). And I'm not residing in US, I'm living in Canada.

So, from what I've gathered from your post, there is no way I can get fingerprints digitally and my only option is via paper forms by mail. Right?

That is my understanding, yes. On July 11th (three weeks after C-6 had passed in Parliament and I'd heard of CIC/IRCC's announced "Fall 2017" effective date for the incoming 3/5 residency rule), I made a lightning day-trip down to the nearest U.S. police station to have my fingerprints taken by a serving police officer who was experienced in taking them up to the stringent FBI standards required. Back in 2013 pre-PR days, I'd had my FBI pcc application returned to me unfulfilled because the fingerprints that had been taken for me by an inexperienced U.S. police officer weren't of good enough quality. So when you go for your prints, make sure that you advocate for yourself and don't be afraid to ask the officer if s/he has read all of the FBI's requirements for fingerprinting. Good luck with your application.

 

[blueangel371115]

I'm debating what to do for mine. I am a US citizen, the nearest US police station is an hour away. With two kids and needing a sitter, I'd really rather not have to find a sitter and pay them to watch the kids when my local police in Canada is ten minutes away. I guess a channeler may be the best route but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg either. If I have the US police do it, would I still need a channeler? I'm trying to figure out the best way. I don't mind waiting for it really especially if channeler's cost hundreds of dollars. TIA.

 

[ChippyBoy]

I'm debating what to do for mine. I am a US citizen, the nearest US police station is an hour away. With two kids and needing a sitter, I'd really rather not have to find a sitter and pay them to watch the kids when my local police in Canada is ten minutes away. I guess a channeler may be the best route but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg either. If I have the US police do it, would I still need a channeler? I'm trying to figure out the best way. I don't mind waiting for it really especially if channeler's cost hundreds of dollars. TIA.

As a U.S. citizen, you have the tremendous advantage that you can get your FBI pcc thing done very quickly, certainly by the digital/chaneller route, but also by the paper route if I'm not mistaken. The paper form has a space for the U.S. Soc.Sec.No., so by that they'd know to put your application into the much faster U.S. citizen pile. So consider nipping down to the nearest U.S. police station to have your prints taken on the paper form, then trackable USPS mail-in your FBI pcc request form & prints form, together with a USPS money order for the $18-USD. The cost of a chaneller is only worth it if you're in a hurry and need your FBI pcc thing back in hours/days. There's a phone number down at the bottom of the FBI's pcc ("IdHSC") page which I called to after 13 weeks of waiting and I was able to speak to a very helpful person who could look my pcc application up in their system by name & birthdate, and who was then able to tell me of its progress. Good luck. Just be sure to advocate for yourself and politely ask that the police officer who takes your prints be one who's had experience with taking them up to the FBI's pretty stringent requirements for recording fingerprints.

 

[blueangel371115]

That's probably what I'll do. My husband can watch the kids for the little bit I'm gone and maybe we'll make a day of it. I really don't mind waiting. I'm calculating my days now before I go but I'm fairly certain I'll need it.