Police certificates

[Joe98 31]

I am hoping someone can help with this issue. I haven't started the k1 visa process yet, but plan on doing so very soon. I have a question about police certificates. My hopeful soon to be fiancee is originally from the philippines. She has been working abroad for over 20 years in different countries. She left the philippines at the age of 18 for work purposes and she has worked in the countries of Hong kong, Malaysia, singapore, Cyprus, Isreal, and at this time she is in the United Arab Emirates. A few of those countries were over 10 years ago since she has been to them. Does she still have to try and obtain a police certificate from all the countries she has worked in even if it has been over 10 years since she worked there? This is a major issue for her and we are both hoping there may be an easier way to where that might not be necessary. If anyone can provide some information about this issue, that would be great.

[Audy_Rob 26]

Usually the rules are every place since age 16 where she lived more than 6 months or 12 months. The duration of the stay in the foreign country (6/12 months) seems to change depending on the Consulate/Embassy she interviews at.

You can go to the Reciprocity table on the DoS web site to find out which countries provide police records from outside the country and how to go about it.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciprocity/reciprocity_3272.html

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

It might be comforting to know that she will only need to obtain police records from where she has lived since the age of 16 and up.

The US Dept. of State has information on obtaining police records and what is (or isn't required). Basically if she has lived in a different part of her country of nationality for more than 6 months, and was at least 16 years of age, she needs a certificate from the local authorities.

If she has lived in a different country for more than 12 months, and was at least 16 years of age, she needs a police certificate from the local authorities of that locale.

You can find more information about how to obtain police certificates from different countries by clicking on the following link...

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html#police

Hope this helps!

[trailmix 77]

There was another VJ member who was originally from the Phillipines, then moved to Canada. She had to get something else as well and I cannot remember what that was. I think it was a certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR). She didn't realize this and went to the interview in Montreal and of course her visa was held up while she obtained it.

Just thought I would mention that.

[payxibka 10,047]

moving thread to:

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

This is the place to post your experiences or questions related to this last step before moving to the US. Topics relating to I-134's, packets sent from consulate and medical & police certificates should be posted here

[Joe98 31]

I am starting to wonder if the k1 visa process will be worth going through with this woman or not. I wrote about obtaing police certificates and so forth and I am not getting any easy answers. My possible fiancee has lived and worked in about 6 different countries over a 20 year period and 3 of them have been over 7 years since she has been there. Would these countries even have a record of her being there after all this time? One country was over 10 years ago and she still needs a police certificate? I am wondering if this can even be accomplished or not. I really don't know what to do ans she won't be happy about all this either.

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

I am starting to wonder if the k1 visa process will be worth going through with this woman or not. I wrote about obtaing police certificates and so forth and I am not getting any easy answers. My possible fiancee has lived and worked in about 6 different countries over a 20 year period and 3 of them have been over 7 years since she has been there. Would these countries even have a record of her being there after all this time? One country was over 10 years ago and she still needs a police certificate? I am wondering if this can even be accomplished or not. I really don't know what to do ans she won't be happy about all this either.

First off, don't give up hope! Most of us can tell you that we've had those bumpy moments in the road where it felt too easy to give up. Sometimes the steps are easy, sometimes they can be nerve-wracking. It's times like this when you need to remain calm with her.

If you haven't already done so, try to get a list from where she's been since the age of 16. If she's only lived in one country or another for less than a year, you can cross that one of your list.

I understand your question about some countries keeping a record on her after all this time. It's possible that they may not have any information on file. But if that is the case, most authorities will at least give you something that states "no record on file." Lizeth picked up her police record last week and sure enough, because she's never been convicted of any crimes in Boliva, they pretty much handed her a report with her name, ID number, and a statement saying "no criminal record."

[trailmix 77]

Even if it is 30 years ago, she will still need the police certificate.

Here are the reciprocity by country tables:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3272.html

You can look up each country she needs a certificate from and it gives you instructions on how to obtain it and which document they want.

[scotty's girl 1]

I am from the Philippines and I stayed in Israel for 2 years. I went to the Israeli Embassy to apply for a police clearance, and one requirement was my old passport (the one I used when I worked there). It took them 3 months to send my police clearance to the USEM. Another thing, you cannot apply for an Israeli Police clearance until your case is forwarded to the USEM in Manila because you will need to show them a request letter from the USEM.