Fstop

It completely depends upon the city. Some cities (Shanghai, for example) are easier than others. We lived in Changchun for 2 years, and they have different rules. The only person who can apply for the clearance (besides yourself), is the employer. No third party is allowed to do this (we tried!). Eventually my former employer agreed to help, after pressure from the owner of the school (I taught his daughter and I was her favorite teacher). The following documents were required:

-Copies of all passports used in China, both for myself and my wife

-Passport pages with all Chinese stamps

-Chinese residence permit (found inside the passport)

-Temporary residence permit (which we did not have)

-Exact address used in China

-Name change documents (if applicable), translated into Chinese

-Marriage certificate

-Power of attorney (both in English and in Chinese)

-Fees for the police certificate and the notary

When it was granted I had already paid all the fees to obtain it, so I figure why not go through with all of it and try and actually get it? You never know when we might need it!

Yes, there has been some progress. Her visa has been issued and she (along with our youngest daughter) will arrive in the US next week! This took some serious maneuvering from some higher ups and with some embassy officials calling the US embassy in Bangkok and explaining how things work (or don't work) in China. But after some serious networking, her visa was finally granted. I'm sorry that I can't be any more specific than that - I don't want to get anyone in trouble!

We are still working on getting the Chinese police clearance, however. The police keep asking for more documents. Because we were married during our stay in China (nearly 10 years ago) and she changed her name (taking my last name), the police wanted name change documents and these of course needed to be translated into Chinese. The police should have everything now; we are just waiting now for the clearance to be issued. 

Strike my previous post. My previous employer didn't apply for it after all and I have no idea why. They seem to be giving me the runaround. Promised to apply for it last week but when I called to confirm they said they would do it this week. I called again today...didn't happen. 

Again, I'm  not sure what to do and it all seems rather hopeless. 

Okay, so my previous employer applied for my wife's police certificate today. They said it will take about 2 weeks, and then a few more days for the notary and translation. That is, if the police can find her record. If they cannot find her record, I just hope that they can give us a document saying as much. So yet another wait begins...

We were in China just under 2 years. My wife was there for a few months on tourist visas before the resident permit was issued so about 18 months total but not more than 6 months continuous (if that makes sense). The embassy didn't care - she was there for more than a year in total so we need the document. 

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in Changchun. No third party can obtain the criminal record check - just my former employer or if my wife traveled back to China herself. I have confirmed this with an agency and a lawyer. 

We have the resident permits that were put into her passport along with the passport stamps. We do not have the temporary residence form, however. I explained this in a letter to the NVC and they approved it, but that didn't matter to the consular officer, since the criminal record check from China is listed as "available" by the state department. 

My former employer was supposed to go to the PSB with all of the documents on Friday but we have not heard back yet; I'm going to call first thing on Monday. 

Another update:

Our friend of a friend went to the local notary office in Changchun and was refused (we sort of expected this). Today she went to the PSB with all the documents - power of attorney, passport pages, etc. She was told no - they wouldn't even look at all the documents she had. They informed her that my former employer (an international school) needed to do it, even though my wife was not an employee there. She is now going to contact them and see if they will help (I've had no luck in persuading them so far). 

If this doesn't work I have no idea what we're going to do, because right now all I have are emails from people who have failed to get this document as well as a letter from my former employer saying that it's impossible to obtain. 

On 7/14/2021 at 7:17 PM, arken said:

Anyway, i also believe the CO won't accept letters from the school or an agent in lieu of the police report since COs go by the state department reciprocity rule, if it says certificate is available, it has to be provided

This is the response that I got from the embassy yesterday. Since it states that the police certificate is "available", there is nothing they can do. They suggested finding an attorney or an agency to help acquire the document. 

I have a friend of a friend in China who is going to go to the PSB and then the local notary office to try and acquire the police clearance document for my wife. Not sure if they will give it to her, even with a power of attorney due to the lack of a temporary registration permit. We are still hopeful, or at least they will give us some official paper that states that the document is unobtainable. 

I'm also still waiting on a quotation from https://lawandborder.com/ and whether or not they can help me. They sure seem to be taking their dear sweet time. 

Yep - only in Shanghai. I emailed them last week and they informed me as much. 

Their website states it as well:

Notice1 : As a minimum requirement, you need to have at least 1 working or family or study residence permit issued at shanghai before.
Notice2: Policy might change, so please double confirm with us in advance.

http://www.visainchina.com/nocriminal.htm

For some reason Visainchina only provides services for those who resided in Shanghai. 

3 minutes ago, lizspj said:

It's been a long time and things may have changed, but I was able to obtain a police cert through an agency in 2015. They were able to do this for two different periods for me - the first I stayed on campus at a uni and had no household registration, the second I lived in a flat and had the proper registration. The only information the agency required to obtain the certificate was pictures of entry / exit stamps in my passport, picture of my passport and a power of attorney giving the agency the right to act on my behalf. Has the law changed since...? They turned it around in a month for me and the entire process was seamless. Hope you can get this sorted, it sounds frustrating!

What was the name of the agency?

I have contacted several agencies and two lawyers. None of the agencies can do it - they all say that they can try, but the likelihood of getting a police certificate without the resident registration form is very difficult, if not impossible. 

My school has said it's not possible.

I'm still waiting on a quotation from https://lawandborder.com/ and whether or not they can help me.

We have spent 18 months and thousands of dollars applying for this visa, only to be turned away by an unobtainable document. Surely there is another way to get approved. 

My wife had her interview last week in Bangkok for the IR-1 immigration visa. This process has now taken 18 months. She had all of her documents except one: a police clearance certificate from Changchun, China, where we lived nearly 10 years ago. Last November I submitted a letter explaining why this document was unobtainable. We were never given a temporary residence permit (I think the school may have kept it and is now destroyed) and this was accepted on the online application. Since it was marked "accepted" I didn't think anything of it until last week when the consular officer denied her visa until we produce this document. 

I have contacted two different lawyers in China and my previous employer (an international school). My school has agreed to write and sign an official letter stating that she was an upstanding and valued member of the school community and as far as they know, does not have a criminal record in China. She was not employed by the school; she was just with me when I was working there.

One of the lawyers has attempted to contact the police and they have confirmed that the police station wouldn't be able to issue the no-criminal record based on current documents. For $500, the lawyer has offered to write a memorandum stating this.

Will this memorandum and the letter from my school be enough? Is there any other course of action I can take?

Yes - sorry her case is currently "AT NVC" - the NVC has sent the expedited request to Bangkok and they have been waiting for a reply for over a month now.

Hello everyone - let me relay my sob story; hopefully someone out there can help us. 

My wife (Thai) and I (US citizen) have been married for 9 years. We have 2 daughters (7 and 2). We started this process in February of 2020. Her CR-1 went to the NVC in December and they sent her application to the US embassy in Bangkok on 17 December. Her application has been approved by the NVC; we are just waiting for an interview to be scheduled. 

I am currently living in the US with our eldest daughter, and my wife is currently living in Thailand with our youngest daughter. I left Thailand back in June as my employer cut everyone's salaries by 25%. I have now found a job here and we are just waiting for an interview to be scheduled so that we can be reunited. We never thought for a moment that it would take so long for an interview to be scheduled.

Last month, I contacted my congressman in hopes of applying for an expedited visa. We have a lot of evidence - doctor's note, a letter from my daughter's teacher and letters from family. It has now been over a month since we sent in this request (via the congressman's office) and we have heard nothing.

Last night I called the US embassy in Bangkok and the person I spoke to said that immigrant visa applicants are ineligible for expedited visas after the application has reached the embassy. The only thing we can do is wait for an interview to be scheduled. I find it difficult to believe this and have reached out to our lawyer and our congressman, as I have never heard of this insane rule. 

Any help or advice would be most appreciated, as we are desperate to be reunited. 

sorry wrong forum