Spouse Lives in US as Student, need help regarding police clearance.

[proudCanadian15]

Hi All,

Hope everyone is doing great. This is my first post here. My spouse is studying in USA. She has also resided in two other countries before that( more than 6 months). I am sponsoring her PR application here in Canada. From what I understand my spouse needs police clearance from all the 3 countries she had lived in. I was going through some of the old posts here and also checked the cic website (cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states) regarding how to get police clearance from USA.
According to the FBI website (fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks) it takes about 14-16 weeks to process the police clearance certificates. Should it take this much time? Or ami I missing anything here? I guess I am little confused about this. I would really appreciate any advice regarding this issue. Thank you.

 

[Decoy24601]

Hi All,

Hope everyone is doing great. This is my first post here. My spouse is studying in USA. She has also resided in two other countries before that( more than 6 months). I am sponsoring her PR application here in Canada. From what I understand my spouse needs police clearance from all the 3 countries she had lived in. I was going through some of the old posts here and also checked the cic website (cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states) regarding how to get police clearance from USA.
According to the FBI website (fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks) it takes about 14-16 weeks to process the police clearance certificates. Should it take this much time? Or ami I missing anything here? I guess I am little confused about this. I would really appreciate any advice regarding this issue. Thank you.

Yes, it's taking that much time, if not more. The timeline on their website is mostly accurate. As far as I know, no one is getting their clearance faster than 14 weeks. 15-16 is seeming more normal lately. It's been 17 weeks for mine and I still haven't even gotten my credit card charged or heard anything about it.

The FBI Clearance thread: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/us-police-clearance-fbi-processing-times-t270222.0.html

You can send in an application without the FBI clearance, but make sure you send a letter explaining that you aren't sending it because of the long processing times and will send it to them when you have it.

 

[proudCanadian15]

Thanks a lot Decoy24601. Really appreciate your advice. Sorry to hear about your situation. I really hope you get the police clearance very soon. It is definitely an option sending the application without the US police clearance , but would that make any difference time wise? Would CIC start processing an application without the police clearance? Again thank you very much for the update. Best of luck to both of us.

 

[Decoy24601]

Thanks a lot Decoy24601. Really appreciate your advice. Sorry to hear about your situation. I really hope you get the police clearance very soon. It is definitely an option sending the application without the US police clearance , but would that make any difference time wise? Would CIC start processing an application without the police clearance? Again thank you very much for the update. Best of luck to both of us.

No, it shouldn't make any difference time wise. As long as you apply for the FBI PCC before sending in the application it should arrive months before they begin processing the principal applicant's portion of the application. Sponsor Approval takes a little over 2 months, then they forward it to another VO (visa office) for the applicant's portion. The fastest time's I've seen out of a VO is about 2-3 month's for In Progress, so it's almost guaranteed to arrive before they would even need to look at it. (I'm also assuming you're applying outland). Make sure you order at least two sets of prints (four is good) when you have them taken and go to send them in to the FBI. If for some reason they can't read the prints and you need to have them retaken, it could delay your FBI PCC. Another 4 months of waiting for it could end up adding additional time to your PR application. If this happens and for some reason they request the FBI clearance before you have it, send them a letter explaining that you don't have it because of the long processing times again. If they do end up requesting it and you do not notify them at all of your plans or situation, they can deny your whole PR application (this just happened to someone).

 

[proudCanadian15]

Thanks a lot Decoy24601. Then it makes sense to apply without the FBI clearance. Or May be we will apply for the police clearance , then wait a month to check whether they got the fingerprints in their system or not( I guess you can talk to their customer care to get that update). Once the fingerprint is in their system, we can then apply for the application. That is what I am thinking anyway. Again, thanks lot for your useful advice. Really appreciate it.

 

[smr21]

Thanks a lot Decoy24601. Then it makes sense to apply without the FBI clearance. Or May be we will apply for the police clearance , then wait a month to check whether they got the fingerprints in their system or not( I guess you can talk to their customer care to get that update). Once the fingerprint is in their system, we can then apply for the application. That is what I am thinking anyway. Again, thanks lot for your useful advice. Really appreciate it.

proudCanadian -

Just found this thread, and I think we are in a similar boat. Do you know how to get in touch with their customer care to see if the fingerprints can be read and are in the system? I had a glitch with my FBI, because after I sent in the payment my bank cancelled that card (a breach of security on their end) and sent me a new one, and so I had to send in a new payment form. Anyway, I haven't had any luck getting a status update from the FBI about my case - if you have a customer care line number would you be able to share it? I just found an email, but they haven't been able to help.

Thanks, and good luck with your application!

 

[proudCanadian15]

proudCanadian -

Just found this thread, and I think we are in a similar boat. Do you know how to get in touch with their customer care to see if the fingerprints can be read and are in the system? I had a glitch with my FBI, because after I sent in the payment my bank cancelled that card (a breach of security on their end) and sent me a new one, and so I had to send in a new payment form. Anyway, I haven't had any luck getting a status update from the FBI about my case - if you have a customer care line number would you be able to share it? I just found an email, but they haven't been able to help.

Thanks, and good luck with your application!

Hi, smr21, I am afraid, I don't have the number of the FBI customer care. I have been reading up some old posts ( mentioned in the this thread earlier ) from the USA visa processing thread. According to that thread you can contact the customer care ( I am not sure either by phone or by email) and get some kind of updates. I have a question for you as well. Can you tell me where did you do your fingerprints? Did you do it yourself ? or Did you go to your nearby police station ( or private agency) who did that for you?? I will try to find more about the FBI customer care number. I will post an update if I have any.

 

[Decoy24601]

proudCanadian -

Just found this thread, and I think we are in a similar boat. Do you know how to get in touch with their customer care to see if the fingerprints can be read and are in the system? I had a glitch with my FBI, because after I sent in the payment my bank cancelled that card (a breach of security on their end) and sent me a new one, and so I had to send in a new payment form. Anyway, I haven't had any luck getting a status update from the FBI about my case - if you have a customer care line number would you be able to share it? I just found an email, but they haven't been able to help.

Thanks, and good luck with your application!

This is the number to call the FBI about background checks: 304-625-5590

When did you submit your prints and application? They're currently taking over 3 months to even open mail, so it's very likely they won't be able to tell you anything about your individual request. In fact, all they tell anyone is what day's applications they're processing. They should be processing applications received around October 26th, 2015 by now. You won't know if the prints are legible until they go to process the application.

When I emailed this form to the email address given at the bottom (address confirmation/change) https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/address-verification I also asked about my application. For some reason, they are saying that they received mine 10 days after they signed for it with USPS and to wait longer. (They received mine October 16, 2015). The most they will be able to tell you before they open your application is what day they received it.