Police Cerificates
Available. Police records can only be requested for immigrant visa applicants by the United States Consulate or Embassy where the applicant's case is being processed. Any certificate presented directly by applicants cannot be accepted. To request a police record, the visa processing post should send an email to the Consulate General in Amsterdam at ImmigrantVisasAMS@state.gov. The request must include:
- Applicant's full name(s) including aliases:
- Date, city/town and country of birth;
- Complete address of last residence in The Netherlands.
The Consulate General in Amsterdam may need up to 15 working days to obtain the certificate, provided there is no derogatory information concerning the applicant. If there is derogatory information it may take up to five weeks.
The certificate, which is in the Dutch language, covers criminal investigations only. Criminal records are expunged after a number of years, depending on the offense, following termination of the case (i.e., after service of any prison sentence) provided no other offense is committed in the interim. Police records may, therefore, not constitute a full summary of criminal records. Applicants with a criminal history can obtain their own conviction record from the sentencing court.
These certificates may be used only in processing immigrant visa applications and may not be given to the applicant or to any private individual. The visa applicant may not be informed of the source of any derogatory information contained in the police certificate.
If the police certificate has not been obtained by the interview date the CO will delay issuing the visa until they have it. They will not deny the case because of a missing police certificate that they have to request.