Police Certificate Question : Indian Residing in USA.

[prashantgupta8055]

Hi All - I am in process of arranging my documents. I am an Indian citizen residing in USA. Instead of contacting embassy, I have requested local district police station to send me police clearance certificate. I wanted to check if that is acceptable or i need to visit consulate?

Thanks !

 

[aru_nj]

Hi All - I am in process of arranging my documents. I am an Indian citizen residing in USA. Instead of contacting embassy, I have requested local district police station to send me police clearance certificate. I wanted to check if that is acceptable or i need to visit consulate?

Thanks !

If you are in USA, its better to get one from consulate as this is what usually everyone does. Though the PCC from local district police station is valid the officer in charge might foresee a question like this " How come this person get a PCC from India without his physical presence in the country?"

It might also trigger a question, whether you tried to bypass the consulate option and used your influence to get one from local district station.

I might be wrong , just a suggestion

I got mine from consulate within 1 day , it's so easy

 

[prhelpcanada]

So, if a person is Indian Citizen residing in USA for years, one can go to nearest Indian Consulate and get Police Clearance for a nominal fee. No FBI or background clearance required which I have heard takes months - at least 3?
Please advise. Thanks.

 

[Asivad Anac]

So, if a person is Indian Citizen residing in USA for years, one can go to nearest Indian Consulate and get Police Clearance for a nominal fee. No FBI or background clearance required which I have heard takes months - at least 3?
Please advise. Thanks.

You're confusing 2 different things. An Indian citizen residing in USA for years would need an FBI PCC which does take 3 months or longer and one would need to approach the FBI not the nearest Indian consulate. You might also need an Indian PCC if you've lived in India for 6 months or more since turning 18 - you may approach the Indian consulate for this support.

US PCC ---> http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp

Indian PCC ---> http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/india.asp

 

[aru_nj]

So, if a person is Indian Citizen residing in USA for years, one can go to nearest Indian Consulate and get Police Clearance for a nominal fee. No FBI or background clearance required which I have heard takes months - at least 3?
Please advise. Thanks.

Yes what Asivad said is correct. I said about Indian PCC which is one of your requirement.

FBI Identity History Summary ( FBI report) is the US PCC which you require to get directly from FBI. Check out the page below. Current wait time is 3 months.

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

 

[prhelpcanada]

Thank you much Asivad and aru_nj.

Would it be advisable to start for FBI clearance now even though I am no where close to ITA yet? But to save time and rush at a later time. Is their any harm doing that now besides spending money now vs. later?

Please advise.

 

[Asivad Anac]

Thank you much Asivad and aru_nj.

Would it be advisable to start for FBI clearance now even though I am no where close to ITA yet? But to save time and rush at a later time. Is their any harm doing that now besides spending money now vs. later?

Please advise.

For your current country of residence, PCC is valid for only 6 months from the date of issue. If you're in the US and expecting an ITA within the next 6 months, no harm in applying for one.

 

[Deccan]

Hi All - I am in process of arranging my documents. I am an Indian citizen residing in USA. Instead of contacting embassy, I have requested local district police station to send me police clearance certificate. I wanted to check if that is acceptable or i need to visit consulate?

Thanks !

From my experience, getting Indian PCC from the consulates here in the U.S. has been a very straightforward process. If your current passport was issued at the NY CGI, for example, they will give you the PCC the same day. If passport was issued elsewhere (e.g. India, or a different CGI in the US), you could still submit pertinent documents either via mail or in person. PCC will be ready in about 2 weeks time. You can give them a pre-paid return envelop and written instructions/request to mail it back to you (they'll hang on to your passport as well, btw) or you can pick up in person.

Good luck!

 

[prhelpcanada]

Thanks Deccan, my passport was issued at Chicago Consulate early this year (renewed). I am looking for guidance for FBI PCC as that seems to be more time consuming.

 

[Deccan]

Thanks Deccan, my passport was issued at Chicago Consulate early this year (renewed). I am looking for guidance for FBI PCC as that seems to be more time consuming.

As Asivad said, if your CRS is relatively high and you are expecting an ITA fairly soon, there's no harm in applying beforehand for the FBI PCC. Especially since it's easily taking 3 months (or more in some cases).

The application process itself is fairly straight forward. We went to our local police department for getting the finger prints done. You may need to call ahead and inquire since not all stations offer this service and the ones that do, only offer it on certain days of the week.

Just make sure, though, that the imprints are clear and not smudged. My spouse's prints were rejected by the FBI and we had to redo the whole thing.

Good luck!

 

[prhelpcanada]

Thank you again Deccan. Appreciate it much!