Do I need a police certificate for...?

[CaptainMewBu 0]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to prepare all the documents for the NVC stage for CR-1 but I am confused as to whether I would need police certificates for the following countries. I understand that I'll need a police certificate for every place I've lived in for more than 12 months since age 16. I've lived, studied and worked in quite a few different countries and some of them are not so straightforward...Here's my situation:

Thailand:

-I lived on and off in Thailand for 1 year on a number of 30-day visa-free visits and tourist visas. I was working for an internet business at the time so I could live wherever I wanted. I picked Thailand as a base for traveling to other Southeast Asian countries. I did have an apartment lease which i actually used as proof for my i-130 as both my USC husband and I were on it. Will I need to provide a police certificate for Thailand in my case? I'm not sure if I can even get one because I had no valid resident visas to prove to the Thai government that I was living there. Should I write an explanation letter to the NVC?

Hong Kong:

-I am a Hong Kong citizen but I have not lived there since turning 16. Do I need a police certificate? I am just wondering because there might be an automatic police certificate requirement for the home country...

Chile:

-I am moving to Chile to start a new job next month and I am looking to transfer my NVC case to the consulate there. Will I need a police certificate for Chile because it will be my 'current residence' by the time I have my interview?

If anyone has answers to any of my questions, I would love to hear them! Thank you!!!

[G&V 1]

Hi there,

I inquired about this before but mine was more straight forward cos I was only in one other country.

here's the reply,

Dear Inquirer:

All immigrant visa applicants are required to submit a police certificate for the country of nationality; they must also submit a police certificate for their current country of their residence, if they have resided there (country of nationality and country of their residence) for six months or more after the age of 16. Finally, they are required to submit a police certificate for any other country in which they have resided for one year or more after the age of 16.

Information about obtaining documents from other countries can be found on the Department of State’s website at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3272.html.

I would suggest you to register with ustraveldocs.com and write to them directly and ask.

Hope this helps

[SimonBelgium 49]

You can have a look at the NVC website, which lists the documents you need.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/submit/documents-to-submit-to-nvc.html

I quote the section on Police Certificates here:

Each visa applicant aged 16 years or older must submit police certificates.

You must submit police certificates which:

• Cover the entire period of the applicant’s residence in that area
• Have been issued by the appropriate police authority
• Include all arrests, the reason for the arrest(s), and the disposition of each recorded case.

How to obtain a police certificate:

1. Determine the countries from which a police certificate is required. Refer to the table below.
   
   Note: Present and former residents of the United States need NOT obtain any U.S. police certificates
   
2. Contact the appropriate police authorities. Additional information on how to obtain a police certificate can be found on the Reciprocity by Country page.
   
   IMPORTANT NOTICE - ABOUT POLICE CERTIFICATES: Some countries require a specific Police Certificate Request form to properly request and obtain Police Certificate(s). The Reciprocity by Country page indicates those countries.
   
   Police certificates from certain countries are unavailable.
   
   More specific information is available from the NVC, the nearest U.S. immigrant visa processing post, or online at Reciprocity by Country.

An applicant must obtain a police certificate from the local police authority:

IF you…

AND…

have been living in your country of nationality at their current residence for more than 6 months

you are 16 years old or older

lived in a different part of your country of nationality for more than 6 months

you were 16 years or older at that time

lived in a different country for more than 12 months

you were 16 years or older at that time

were arrested for any reason

you were any age at the time of the arrest

Now, the "lived in..." may be confusing. If you go on holidays abroad for 2 weeks, you "live" in another country for those 2 weeks.

For legal purposes, you should however consider if you were registered with local authorities to be living there. Typically this means you have taken residency in that location.

If you spent time in hotels, friends spare rooms etc while doing some work abroad, typically you did not notify local authorities of this, and you kept your residency where you were before.

In this case, you don't need a police certificate for visiting that country, the local authorities will not have knowledge of your existence.

[CaptainMewBu 0]

Thank you both!

I've emailed usvisadocs.com! Since I'll be going to Thailand at end of this month, I'll see if they'll let me get a police certificate. If not, I'll write a letter to NVC to explain my situation and see if that works.

[lcwilliams 4]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to prepare all the documents for the NVC stage for CR-1 but I am confused as to whether I would need police certificates for the following countries. I understand that I'll need a police certificate for every place I've lived in for more than 12 months since age 16. I've lived, studied and worked in quite a few different countries and some of them are not so straightforward...Here's my situation:

Thailand:

-I lived on and off in Thailand for 1 year on a number of 30-day visa-free visits and tourist visas. I was working for an internet business at the time so I could live wherever I wanted. I picked Thailand as a base for traveling to other Southeast Asian countries. I did have an apartment lease which i actually used as proof for my i-130 as both my USC husband and I were on it. Will I need to provide a police certificate for Thailand in my case? I'm not sure if I can even get one because I had no valid resident visas to prove to the Thai government that I was living there. Should I write an explanation letter to the NVC?

Hong Kong:

-I am a Hong Kong citizen but I have not lived there since turning 16. Do I need a police certificate? I am just wondering because there might be an automatic police certificate requirement for the home country...

Chile:

-I am moving to Chile to start a new job next month and I am looking to transfer my NVC case to the consulate there. Will I need a police certificate for Chile because it will be my 'current residence' by the time I have my interview?

If anyone has answers to any of my questions, I would love to hear them! Thank you!!!

I think you need to get a PCC for Thailand since you've lived there for a period of time as well as HK. But I don't think you need to get a PCC for Chile bec you haven't lived there for a period of time yet. Unless the NVC stage is going to take longer than 6 mos. I suggest you inform NVC of youR planned move. Otherwise, it could delay the process.

Ooopsss... my bad didn't read the part that you have no valid resident visa. I think you don't need to. In that case just get an HK PCC.

Edited May 8, 2014 by lcwilliams

[pushbrk 13,426]

Thank you both!

I've emailed usvisadocs.com! Since I'll be going to Thailand at end of this month, I'll see if they'll let me get a police certificate. If not, I'll write a letter to NVC to explain my situation and see if that works.

You appear to have been visiting Thailand, not residing there. To reside in a country, you must have a visa that allows "residence". No need for a certificate for Thailand, Hong Kong, or Chile, in your situation unless you live in Chile six months prior to the interview, even if not six month prior to NVC document submission.

[CaptainMewBu 0]

You appear to have been visiting Thailand, not residing there. To reside in a country, you must have a visa that allows "residence". No need for a certificate for Thailand, Hong Kong, or Chile, in your situation unless you live in Chile six months prior to the interview, even if not six month prior to NVC document submission.

What if I have already used my Thailand address in my I-130 petition? I used the lease agreement to prove genuine relationship and both my husband and I used the address when we filled out our G-325a under past addresses. Wouldn't NVC and the embassy want to see a certificate? Or should I write a letter to explain?

If they accept my explanation that I was only 'visiting' Thailand and don't ask for a certificate, I'll probably need to get one for Hong Kong to cover that 1-year period, right? I didn't have residence visa for anywhere else during that time.

Thank you for all the help so far!

[pushbrk 13,426]

It's amazing how additional facts can change the answer. Now, we need more. You say you didn't live in Hong Kong after your sixteenth birthday. If that is true, you don't need a police certificate for Hong Kong. I get that you stated Thailand as your residence address and leased a dwelling there. In that case, you may well need that police report.

Are you transient? What has been your primary resident country since turning 16? Paint a more comprehensive picture of your residence circumstances, and we can provide more meaningful assistance.

[CaptainMewBu 0]

It's amazing how additional facts can change the answer. Now, we need more. You say you didn't live in Hong Kong after your sixteenth birthday. If that is true, you don't need a police certificate for Hong Kong. I get that you stated Thailand as your residence address and leased a dwelling there. In that case, you may well need that police report.

Are you transient? What has been your primary resident country since turning 16? Paint a more comprehensive picture of your residence circumstances, and we can provide more meaningful assistance.

Yes my situation is quite confusing! And yes I'm very transient. I've lived in 7 countries since turning 16 and am moving to my 8th one (Chile) next month, which is why I have questions regarding police certificates!

I was born in Hong Kong to Hong Kong parents but grew up in different countries. I attended high school in the US but went to university in the UK. After I graduated, I worked for a firm that took me all over the world. I lived in a few countries for more than 12 months each through the job and I had proper work permits for all of those places so I've already started the process of obtaining police certificates for them. I also met my USC husband in one of the countries where we were both working.

Now this is where the situation became confusing: 2 years ago, I was offered a job with an internet start-up which meant I could go anywhere. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I decided to move to Thailand where we could experience a new part of the world/travel around Southeast Asia. We got an apartment lease for a year but we never continuously lived there because we didn't have resident visas and we were traveling a lot. I spent 2 months of that year staying with family in Hong Kong as well. The apartment lease, however, came in very handy because it was our first joint residence, which is why we used it for I-130. Anyways, after 1 year, I got a job with another company in Malaysia (where my husband and I are now) but I'll be transferring to their headquarters in Chile next month, where we'll be moving to, and hence transferring the CR-1 case to the embassy there.

So yes, I have not lived in Hong Kong since turning 16 but I've always used addresses there (relatives and now parents) as my 'permanent mailing address' as I never had one myself.

I hope this explains my background and my original questions!

The only reason I suggested getting a certificate for Hong Kong in my last post was because if I thought I weren't able to get a certificate for Thailand I would need to get a police certificate from somewhere to cover that 1 year gap and I picked Hong Kong because I'm a citizen there so no legal difficulties. Although I did more research on it just now and realized that on the DS-260, I could simply put the actual amount of time I had spent in Thailand to show that I never actually lived in Thailand continuously for 12 months, so no need for the police certificate. If I do that, it won't match what I've put on the G-325a but would it matter?

Sorry this is so long, so thanks for reading!

[pushbrk 13,426]

Matching the G325a won't really matter, except you might have to explain your visa status in certain countries. With more of your story in mind, I would call my residence Hong Kong, for any space of time you didn't have resident status elsewhere, and get a Hong Kong Police Certificate covering all time from age 16 to now.

[CaptainMewBu 0]

That makes sense. Thailand was the only place where I didn't have resident visa so I'll get the certificate from Hong Kong instead.

Thanks for the help!

[lcwilliams 4]

I'm not sure if this is right but I think getting a police clearance is when you stay in a place for more than 6 months. Not 12.

[pushbrk 13,426]

I'm not sure if this is right but I think getting a police clearance is when you stay in a place for more than 6 months. Not 12.

You're wrong. It's not that simple, 6 months sometimes applies and other times it's 12 months. In this case, 12 months. Check it out instead of incorrectly speculating.

[lcwilliams 4]

You're wrong. It's not that simple, 6 months sometimes applies and other times it's 12 months. In this case, 12 months. Check it out instead of incorrectly speculating.

Wow! Thanks! I didn't realize I was so stupid. Thanks for making me see the light.

[pushbrk 13,426]

Even the most intelligent among us are wrong from time to time. Being wrong doesn't mean you're stupid. Doing a stupid thing doesn't mean you're stupid. Please don't speculate. Others will be along who don't need to speculate, or like in this case others came along with the correct information ahead of you. When you don't know, read and learn.