Police Certificate - lived in other countries for more than 12 months (but not consecutively)

[allinjohnny 0]

Hi all:

I am a July filer and was preparing the DS-230 for my wife (beneficiary). I want to ask about whether Police Certificate is required from other countries she has lived. She is a Chinese citizen and has studied/lived in Italy for 2 time periods. The first time is for about 11 months for her graduate study, then second time for about 6 months working there. According to the travel.state.gov website, "from all countries where the applicant has resided for at least 12 months".

Does it only apply to 12 months consecutively? Do we need Police Certificate from Italy in this case? If anyone has similar situation before and can share your experiences, I really appreciated it.

I also checked the Country Reciprocity table, Police Records are available for Italy, but I am worried it would take some time given my wife's experience with Italian offices.

Thank

[Laure&Colin 562]

Hi all:

I am a July filer and was preparing the DS-230 for my wife (beneficiary). I want to ask about whether Police Certificate is required from other countries she has lived. She is a Chinese citizen and has studied/lived in Italy for 2 time periods. The first time is for about 11 months for her graduate study, then second time for about 6 months working there. According to the travel.state.gov website, "from all countries where the applicant has resided for at least 12 months".

Does it only apply to 12 months consecutively? Do we need Police Certificate from Italy in this case? If anyone has similar situation before and can share your experiences, I really appreciated it.

I also checked the Country Reciprocity table, Police Records are available for Italy, but I am worried it would take some time given my wife's experience with Italian offices.

Thank

Getting police certificates from abroad is a pain in the bottom...

I'm not sure about your question. Did she go back to China between the end of her studies and working there? For how long? Did she remain a lawful resident in Italy the whole time or not?

It may be something you need to ask to the NVC, but be sure to talk to a supervisor. Operators are totally clueless.

[allinjohnny 0]

Getting police certificates from abroad is a pain in the bottom...

I'm not sure about your question. Did she go back to China between the end of her studies and working there? For how long? Did she remain a lawful resident in Italy the whole time or not?

It may be something you need to ask to the NVC, but be sure to talk to a supervisor. Operators are totally clueless.

Yes, there is a gap of 1 year between her 2 stays in Italy. She went back to China after her study, then started work in Italy again after 1 year. She was lawful resident during the whole time.

Any advice how to get a supervisor on the NVC line?

[MissDinaDee 8]

My suggestion is always to error on the side of caution and get the police certificate. I lived in Japan for just uner 12 months but I provided a police certificate anyway. It took 3 weeks to get from Japan and was free of charge.

To me it wouldn't be worth the headache of a potential RFE especially as she will have to list her residence as she lived there for longer than 6 months, according to the DS-260 requirements.

Good luck!

MrsJ

[pddp 240]

I was actually blown away by how easy and quick it was to get a police certificate from Italy! Just fill out the request form below and send it to this address:

PROCURA DELLA REPUBBLICA DI ROMA

UFFICIO DEL CASELLARIO GIUDIZIALE

VIA MARIO AMATO N.13

00195 ROMA

ITALIA

Oggetto: Istanza per il rilascio dei SEGUENTI CERTIFICATI:

CASELLARIO GIUDIZIALE GENERALE E DEI CARICHI PENDENTI

Il sottoscritto/La sottoscritta ________________, nato/a il _________________ a _____________________________, cittadino/a ___________________, titolare del passaporto n. __________________ rilasciato il ______________ a ________________, attualmente residente in _______________ al seguente indirizzo:

_________________________________________________________________

chiede a Codesto spettabile Ufficio il rilascio dei seguenti certificati:

- CERTIFICATO GENERALE e DEI CARICHI PENDENTI

per uso: Immigrazione (Stati Uniti)

Il sottoscritto/La sottoscritta allega alla presente istanza la fotocopia del proprio documento di riconoscimento e 10 euro per le spese di rilascio del documento, oltre alla busta preindirizzata per l'invio del documento alla quale si prega di apporre il relativo francobollo italiano.

Si ringrazia in anticipo e si porgono i più distinti saluti.

_______________, ___________________ Firma: ____________________________

Include a 10 euro bill (or 20, just to be sure for processing and international response coupons for postage. They sent me mine within like a week from when I sent the request.

[pddp 240]

Oh, and obviously also a copy of your passport ID page and a self-addressed envelope.

[Laure&Colin 562]

Include a 10 euro bill (or 20, just to be sure for processing and international response coupons for postage. They sent me mine within like a week from when I sent the request.

A bill? You can't send a bill by post, can you??

[pddp 240]

A bill? You can't send a bill by post, can you??

That's what I thought too, but the Italian consulate in Helsinki assured me it's actually the only way. You can't pay online since they won't give you an account number where to send the money. They might accept a postal order, but it seems EU countries are abandoning this practice and for example the Finnish post office no longer provides this service. So yep, you actually send them a bill. Worked like a charm, too!

[allinjohnny 0]

That's what I thought too, but the Italian consulate in Helsinki assured me it's actually the only way. You can't pay online since they won't give you an account number where to send the money. They might accept a postal order, but it seems EU countries are abandoning this practice and for example the Finnish post office no longer provides this service. So yep, you actually send them a bill. Worked like a charm, too!

Thanks a lot, pddp! I have a few more questions, since I don't understand the request form in Italian.

1. Does this request form will cover both of 2 certificates (Casellario Giudiziale AND Carichi Pendenti) requested by NVC. Same goes for the fee of 20 Euro?

2. Is there a specific request form I have to use (i.e. download online) or I can just type & print it out on a paper?

3. Will certificates be in English or Italian? If in Italian, do they provide certified translations?

4. I think you mentioned that the self-addressed envelope without postage stamp. but http://travel.state.gov website says stamped, I am not sure what kind of stamps to use.

[pddp 240]

Thanks a lot, pddp! I have a few more questions, since I don't understand the request form in Italian.

1. Does this request form will cover both of 2 certificates (Casellario Giudiziale AND Carichi Pendenti) requested by NVC. Same goes for the fee of 20 Euro?

2. Is there a specific request form I have to use (i.e. download online) or I can just type & print it out on a paper?

3. Will certificates be in English or Italian? If in Italian, do they provide certified translations?

4. I think you mentioned that the self-addressed envelope without postage stamp. but http://travel.state.gov website says stamped, I am not sure what kind of stamps to use.

1. This request is for both Casellario Giudiziale and Carichi Pendenti. They charge a few euros for each so a 10e bill should cover it, however I actually sent in a 20 for "quick processing".

2. Just copy and paste into Word, no need for an actual form.

3. They will be in Italian. I doubt they provide certified translations, just take them to one yourself.

4. You would need Italian stamps (for them to be able to send it from Italy), so unless you have those, you can buy international response coupons from your local post office. This is like international postal currency that can be exchanged into local postage stamps almost everywhere in the world.

Does your fiancee speak Italian, can she figure out how to fill in the form? If not, I can translate it.

[pddp 240]

How to fill in the form:

La sottoscritta (your fiancee's name), nata il (date of birth) a (place of birth),

cittadina (nationality- Chinese: cinese), titolare del passaporto n. (passport number)

rilasciato il (date of issue) a (place of issue), attualmente residente

in (country of current residence) al seguente indirizzo:

(current address)

chiede a Codesto spettabile Ufficio il rilascio dei seguenti certificati:

- CERTIFICATO GENERALE e DEI CARICHI PENDENTI

per uso: immigrazione (Stati Uniti)

La sottoscritta allega alla presente istanza la fotocopia del proprio documento di

riconoscimento e 10 euro per le spese di rilascio del documento, oltre alla busta

preindirizzata per l'invio del documento alla quale si prega di apporre il relativo

francobollo italiano.

Si ringrazia in anticipo e si porgono i più distinti saluti.

(City), (Date) Firma: (signature)

[allinjohnny 0]

How to fill in the form:

La sottoscritta (your fiancee's name), nata il (date of birth) a (place of birth),

cittadina (nationality- Chinese: cinese), titolare del passaporto n. (passport number)

rilasciato il (date of issue) a (place of issue), attualmente residente

in (country of current residence) al seguente indirizzo:

(current address)

chiede a Codesto spettabile Ufficio il rilascio dei seguenti certificati:

- CERTIFICATO GENERALE e DEI CARICHI PENDENTI

per uso: immigrazione (Stati Uniti)

La sottoscritta allega alla presente istanza la fotocopia del proprio documento di

riconoscimento e 10 euro per le spese di rilascio del documento, oltre alla busta

preindirizzata per l'invio del documento alla quale si prega di apporre il relativo

francobollo italiano.

Si ringrazia in anticipo e si porgono i più distinti saluti.

(City), (Date) Firma: (signature)

pddp, thank you very much!

Any translation services in Chicago area you could recommend?

[pddp 240]

pddp, thank you very much!

Any translation services in Chicago area you could recommend?

You're welcome, hope everything goes smoothly.

Sorry, no experience of translators here. They shouldn't charge *too* much for this, the certificates are basically just a list of personal info...