not started yet but have questions

[ktb 15]

I am looking to start this process for my English husband and anticipate the same problems as we have been living outside of our home countries for 5 years, and have friends who have been through the process for OZ and had a hell of time getting their police checks from here. We work seasonally and thus move back and forth a lot. Can anyone tell me how long you have to be living and working outside the home country before a police check is required? I heard 7 months. Is this 7 months out of any one year or 7 months in total? If we have been living in a country but not working for the 7 months do they still require a police check? What do I do if the government won't give me one??

Thanks for your help.

[ktb 15]

Hi! I have not started the process yet, but am trying to do all the research I can to avoid unexpected surprises. I met my husband (English) while he was still legally married, however they had been seperated for several years at this point and were living in different countries. Will I need to prove the separation when I send in the initial paperwork for the I-130 or how should I handle the situation??

Thank you so much for your help!!

[Wally G! 58]

I am looking to start this process for my English husband and anticipate the same problems as we have been living outside of our home countries for 5 years, and have friends who have been through the process for OZ and had a hell of time getting their police checks from here. We work seasonally and thus move back and forth a lot. Can anyone tell me how long you have to be living and working outside the home country before a police check is required? I heard 7 months. Is this 7 months out of any one year or 7 months in total? If we have been living in a country but not working for the 7 months do they still require a police check? What do I do if the government won't give me one??

Thanks for your help.

Police Certificates: Police certificates are required for all countries you have lived in for more than 12 months over the age of 16 years. Certificates are also required of military personnel. Police certificates must be obtained from a police authority. A police certificate is also required for each country where an applicant has been arrested for any reason, regardless of how long he/she lived there. Police certificates from certain countries are unavailable or are obtained directly by this office. Detailed country-specific information can also be found at the Department of State's website.

Please note that many countries require fingerprints to process police certificates for immigration purposes (e.g, Australia, Canada, Nigeria). Police certificates completed without the required fingerprints are not valid. In these cases, applicants must not capture their own fingerprints. View the attached PDF file for a list of UK police forces (PDF - 338kb) that offer a fingerprinting service. Applicants should not attempt to to obtain police certificates for the few countries where it is documented that police certificates are not available.

Note: United Kigngdom police certificates are valid for one (1) year only. All other foreign police certificates are valid indefinitely, unless the applicant has traveled to the country in the last year. Bearing in mind this information, applicants must ensure that a valid police certificate is presented at the time of their appointment.

http://london.usembassy.gov/document_checklist.html#police_certificate

[Ban Hammer 12,830]

posts split from other threads and merged into it's own thread.