Obtaining a Myanmar (Burmese) Police certificate

[ThailandR 40]

My Fiancée's K-1 interview was on June 29th at the US Embassy in Bangkok.  She is from Myanmar, but has lived in Thailand for 16 years.  She obtained a Thailand Police clearance which was submitted with her package and given to the consular officer on the date of her interview.  She was told her visa was approved after the interview, but then was called the next day and asked about how long she has been living in Thailand.  

 

Today the consular officer e-mailed, and it appears she is now in 221G administrative processing.  They requested a Myanmar (Burma) Police Certificate, which the only way to get is to travel back to Myanmar and apply in person.  With the current issues in Myanmar she would have to travel through technically a war zone to get to her village, which is not a Burmese village but a Karen village.  

 

We are trying to see if a relative still there can obtain one at the nearest Police center which is a 2 hour drive from her village, but as of this morning have not heard back.

 

Does anybody have some information on how she could get the police clearance without risking her life to do so by driving back into Myanmar.

[Mike E 11,723]

Is her village under control of the junta or the opposition?

[ThailandR 40]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Is her village under control of the junta or the opposition?

Under control of the Opposition, The main town needed to travel to is Hlaingbwe, in Hpa-An.

[Mike E 11,723]

6 hours ago, ThailandR said:

Under control of the Opposition, The main town needed to travel to is Hlaingbwe, in Hpa-An.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Burma.html
 

“Procedure for Obtaining:  Police certificates must be obtained from the Burmese township police station of your primary residence. Only one Burmese police certificate is required.  For persons residing overseas, the most practical way to obtain the certificate is through close relatives or friends still in Burma.”

 

IME, the U.S. State Department does not have clue how things work in Burma.
 

None of my then fiancee’s friends and relatives could obtain a single police certificate on her behalf, and so she traveled the country to get police certificates.

 

With just 11,000 people, Hlaingbwe is likely not large enough to have lawyers. Google Maps does list a law firm that is 24 mules away though, in Hpa-An.  

 

Your fiancee might see if a lawyer in Hpa-An or Yangon can arrange to get her police certificate from Hlaingbwe.

 

I agree with your fiancee that the travel risk is too high. At over 400,000 people, Hpa-An, as one might expect, does have a commercial airport, and given the war, not surprisingly the airport has closed.

 

”Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, please contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you plan to apply if you believe this information is in error or if you have further questions.”

 

So try the lawyer in Hpa-An. The lawyer might be able to draft a letter stating that the State department is incorrect about third parties being able to obtain police certificates.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Mike E

[Chancy 6,233]

*** Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to the Asia: East & Pacific regional forum, for Myanmar-specific input ***

 

[ThailandR 40]

A question for the others?  We received the information requesting the Burma Police certificate and in the subject line it said 221g Police certificate request.  There was nothing else asked for in the e-mail.  So my question is this: "Would they have asked for anything else if it was needed, or is the only item they might have been missing"

 

I would find it really irritating to supply the requested document, which is in processing now with the Police center thanks to a family member who we sent the information too and the Village Chief, and then receive another e-mail asking for more items.

 

They would request all items under 221G at the same time correct?

[Mike E 11,723]

They can keep asking for more stuff as they continue their review of the case.
 

The heavier a rocket, the more fuel it needs. The more fuel it needs, the heavier the rocket.

 

The longer administrative processing (AP) takes, the greater the opportunity to find new issues which can lengthen AP.

 

The embassy should have informed the beneficiary prior to the interview that it wanted the police certificate.

 

Does the beneficiary have a Burmese birth certificate?

Edited July 11, 2023 by Mike E

[ThailandR 40]

No Birth certificate.  Never had one.  Translated and certified copies of the Myanmar National ID Card also notarized by an attorney, 2 affidavits of birth from family members which have been notarized as well by a notarial attorney, and an affidavit signed by the Village chief indicating the same and that no birth certificate was ever issued.  Her National Id card has the same information a birth certificate would have on it, year born, parents names, location etc.  No one in her village or the surrounding villages was ever issued birth certificates, not born in hospitals, born at home and registered on the house registration document which we also had translated and certified, all of which the Embassy was given.  She has lived in Thailand for 16 years since she was 13 years old.  Only visited Myanmar once for 2 weeks to obtain an updated National ID card and New passport back in 2017.  New passport obtained last year here in Thailand at the Myanmar consulate in Chiang Mai.  

 

Her paperwork was checked initially and approved, and she was then given her interview.  Others whose paperwork was missing something were sent back out the door and not interviewed.  After her interview she was told she was approved for the Visa and it would be mailed back after inserting it into her passport.  It was not until the next day they called and asked how long she had lived in Thailand, and then 1 week later they sent the follow-up 221 G e-mail requesting the Burma Police certificate.

 

I find it disingenuous that they would just keep on asking for more stuff each and every time after something was provided.  If they needed documents they should ask for them all at once so they can be obtained and submitted at the same time.  Just my view.

[Mike E 11,723]

7 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

No Birth certificate.  Never had one.  Translated and certified copies of the Myanmar National ID Card also notarized by an attorney, 2 affidavits of birth from family members

How old were these family members when she was born? Are either family member her parent?

 

Were the originals of these affidavits given to the embassy? If so, have they been returned? 

 

7 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

 

an affidavit signed by the Village chief indicating the same and that no birth certificate was ever issued.

Is the Village chief also the Medical Officer. If not, that affidavit might not acceptable as per

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Burma.html
 

Request a birth record from the Health Department in the applicant’s city of birth.  If the Health Department does not have the applicant’s birth record, you should submit the following with your immigrant visa application:

Each of these documents must be notarized.

1. • A letter from the Medical Officer of the city’s Health Department that states the applicant’s birth record is not available;

Again though: does she now have possession of this original statement?

 

7 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

 

She has lived in Thailand for 16 years since she was 13 years old

It is strange and infuriating that since she was under age 16 when she left Burma that they are asking for a pice certificate from Burma. 
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html#6

 

“Police certificates from your present country of residence and all countries where you have lived for six months or more since age 16 (Police certificates are also required for accompanying children age 16 or older)”

[ThailandR 40]

Mike, the affidavits were from her mother and aunt.  The originals of all documents were returned after the interview and they kept all of the copies. Each document in her file she carried had copies attached to them including her Thai police certificate she gave them as she has lived here since she was 13.  My guess is they could not verify her as living here that long as her documentation we gave them only goes back 10 years.  Yet that was all the paperwork requested on the I-129 and the DS-160.  She also has a half Thai born daughter who is now 9 years old but lives with her Thai father and not us. The father is Thai and has filed paperwork to have her live with him until she is 18 and go to school here in the country.

[Mike E 11,723]

2 minutes ago, ThailandR said:

The originals of all documents were returned after the interview

Cool. These will be needed for I-485

[ThailandR 40]

We were able to have the Village Chief, with the only family member still there in the village, to write a document indicating my fiancé was from the village and with her identifying information listed in the document.  The Village Chief then took the letter, along with the family member and the paperwork we had sent, National ID card scan, Passport scan down to the Myanmar Police Force station in Hlaingbwe.  The Police commander issued a Police Certificate of clearance after looking through the records, of course no criminal history as she has been in Thailand since she was 13, and the document indicates she is free from Criminal Offenses.  We just picked up the documents from a courier (Family friend) who was in the village at the time, lucky for us, and has just returned to Thailand.  The documents are now with a translation service.  We will pick them up and mail to the US Embassy in the next day or two.  Also going to mail the Village Chiefs document as well as back-up since it also lists who her father was and has her birthdate on it.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed that this was all that was wanted.

[ThailandR 40]

Requested Document translated and sent to the Embassy by EMS mail on Tuesday afternoon.  Sent an email to the IV Unit section handling her case advising them of the tracking number and including a scan of the translated documents.   Yesterday, the IV Unit responded back indicating the receival of the e-mail and the original mailed documents were also received at the Embassy.  The officer responding to the e-mail indicated it could take 3 or 4 days for them to receive the actual documents after they had been processed.  The e-mail said this:

 

"Please be advised that our mail screening process takes a few days and it is possible your document is en route to our office"

 

"Once our office receives and completes reviewing your documents, we will be in contact with you directly in case we require any additional information/action from you"

 

This is what I had asked about in an earlier post as far as them asking again for more documents.  It is a little disheartening that they would not have asked for everything at once if they needed more.

[ThailandR 40]

Just checked the CEAC this morning and the status has changed from refused to Application Received.  Does anyone know what this means? 

 

 

 

 

The interview was already done and as stated above in another post they have her passport.  We are now starting the 4th week after the Interview was held and she was initially approved.

 

 

[Mike E 11,723]

Seems like a good sign. This will be an interesting data point if approved.