Missing Police Clearance

[bestodds 0]

I am a work based green card applicant (EB2).

I came in for an interview in Montreal on Nov 3, 2010. The Police Clearance from a country I used to live in, which I requested at the end of Aug 2010, was missing on the day of the interview due to how slow the process of requesting a PC is. The consular officer told me that they would issue the visa once they got the PC.

On Nov 23. 2011 I received a letter from that country's Consulate in Toronto stating that the Police Clearance was mailed via express mail to the address I indicated

which was:

US Consulate General in Montreal

Post Office Box 65

Postal Station Desjardins

Montréal, Québec

H5B 1G1

Since the Police Clearance was mailed, and did not go through the DHL delivery system, I have no way to of knowing if the US Consulate is in receipt of it. I check online on the DHL website as well as on the appointment service website for a package, and because quite some time has gone by and no package was sent yet, I have reason to believe that something is wrong.

I did not anticipate it would take that long. The law office handling my case estimated the case would be approved days after the interview. I therefore quit my job and meanwhile my apartment lease was up, so I am currently staying in a hotel anxiously waiting for the green card and eating into my savings.

I read various posts about conquering the backlog in Montreal etc. So, in late December I had the law office fax the IV supervisor a letter requesting expedited processing since my Canadian PC will have expired on Jan 13, 2011 (6 month since its issuance). The fax included supporting documents. The Consulate did not respond. The law office and myself both e-mailed the consulate in Nov, Dec and in Jan. No response. I called DOS and they told me that, quote: "I see a PC is missing, but with Montreal it takes 4 to 6 month until it gets updated in the computer". I know that they're slow but are they that slow??! I doubt that.

I discussed the situation with the law office, and they said the only thing I can do is get in touch with the congressman in the jurisdiction of the job place, but that it probably won't make any difference.

I'm concerned that the US Consulate either did not receive the PC, or that the Canadian PC has become stale and I'll get into an endless loop of applying for police clearances, or that something else is wrong.

What else can I do? Is anyone else waiting for the Consulate in Montreal to process a document as long as I have? This is getting ridiculous.

[Inky 1,111]

Police reports are good for 1 year at the consul not 6 months.

You will likely be waiting quite a while. It takes them a long time to get back to previous cases when an item was missing from the case and requested. Yes montreal really is that slow.

How did you send it to Montreal? did you put the case number and a notice inside of it with case information to make sure the PC matched up to your case? If not it could be lost and Montreal could still be waiting to get the PC from you.

[bestodds 0]

Police reports are good for 1 year at the consul not 6 months.

You will likely be waiting quite a while. It takes them a long time to get back to previous cases when an item was missing from the case and requested. Yes montreal really is that slow.

How did you send it to Montreal? did you put the case number and a notice inside of it with case information to make sure the PC matched up to your case? If not it could be lost and Montreal could still be waiting to get the PC from you.

I'm glad to hear that at least the Canadian PC is valid for a whole year. One less thing to worry about.

I did not send the non-Canadian PC to Montreal myself not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't. That's not how it works with that country. You see unlike Canada, some countries refuse to relinquish a PC to the subject of the certificate, but rather mail it directly to the requesting party (in this case the US consulate). In the request form I did specify my case number MTL2010XXX and the reason for requesting one: "Green Card". The problem is that somewhere along the way someone might have made a mistake, and the US consulate might not have gotten it and I wouldn't even know about it. It's extremely frustrating.

[Inky 1,111]

I'm glad to hear that at least the Canadian PC is valid for a whole year. One less thing to worry about.

I did not send the non-Canadian PC to Montreal myself not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't. That's not how it works with that country. You see unlike Canada, some countries refuse to relinquish a PC to the subject of the certificate, but rather mail it directly to the requesting party (in this case the US consulate). In the request form I did specify my case number MTL2010XXX and the reason for requesting one: "Green Card". The problem is that somewhere along the way someone might have made a mistake, and the US consulate might not have gotten it and I wouldn't even know about it. It's extremely frustrating.

Even tho you are currently not in the US, it is a good idea to try contacting the congress person for the state you will be holding the job in. The worst they could say is sorry we cant help you. If they say they will help, explain the situation with the PC and such get the congress person to have the consul scour the mailing room for this package. It might be the only way to find out if they got it and it just got misplaced in the mail room.

[canadianvan 0]

hey bestodds i was in the same situation as you are right now i will give you a phone number to contact with them best of luck

[bestodds 0]

Even tho you are currently not in the US, it is a good idea to try contacting the congress person for the state you will be holding the job in. The worst they could say is sorry we cant help you. If they say they will help, explain the situation with the PC and such get the congress person to have the consul scour the mailing room for this package. It might be the only way to find out if they got it and it just got misplaced in the mail room.

You're right. I guess it's worth a shot.

[ravis 0]

Hello,

Did you get your visa yet?

[ravis 0]

hey bestodds i was in the same situation as you are right now i will give you a phone number to contact with them best of luck

Hello,

My case at NVC is completed and I am waiting for the interview date.

I used to live in New Zealand. In order for me to get the police clearance from New Zealand, i had to request a form and send all my information to the US Consulate in Montreal, who will then send the request to the US embassy in Auckland, NZ.

The US consulate in Auckland will get the PC and forward it to US consulate in Montreal.

Could you please send me the number so i can confirm that they have received my PC from New Zealand.

Thanks

[bestodds 0]

No, I didn't get my visa yet. I sent a letter to the congressman in the district of my intended job, and haven't heard back yet. I hope it will make a difference.

BTW, I did get a response to an e-mail I sent the consulate a couple of days ago. It seems not to be an automated response:

Thank you for your email, we will review documents sent to our office in the order that they were received. please note that due to the high volume of mail we are currently working on items received in October. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that they're only now opening mail from Oct. We're in Feb for goodness sakes.

[ravis 0]

Hi,

I am very sorry to hear about your case. It is very dissappointing. I hope your case gets cleared soon.

I am worried that i might get into the same situation because of PCCs.

All we can do is pray.