Complicated police certificate situation

[Peter + Olga 0]

My fiance is from Kazakhstan but lived in Moscow for a couple of years without being officially registered there. (She arrived on a tourist visa and stayed a bit longer than she had planned...) She is very concerned about not being able to get a Russian police certificate and since police certificates are mandatory for a K-1 this could be a problem. I'm sure she's not the only person who has been in this situation. How have people handled this? Is it just a matter of bribing the right person somewhere to 'solve' this problem or is this a big deal? Any help on this would be much appreciated.

[Derek & Rita 6]

My fiance is from Kazakhstan but lived in Moscow for a couple of years without being officially registered there. (She arrived on a tourist visa and stayed a bit longer than she had planned...) She is very concerned about not being able to get a Russian police certificate and since police certificates are mandatory for a K-1 this could be a problem. I'm sure she's not the only person who has been in this situation. How have people handled this? Is it just a matter of bribing the right person somewhere to 'solve' this problem or is this a big deal? Any help on this would be much appreciated.

Not too sure about it. My wife is in a similar but not quite situation. She's registered in St Petersburg, but not Moscow, because she is living with a friend and her husband doesn't want to pay higher taxes. I suppose she could request a police certificate from St Petersburg... yours is different though, If she were arrested, I'm sure she would be on the books there, if not, well they might be able to provide that clean certificate for a "processing fee".

[beejay 125]

This is obviously country specific but the DOS webpage for instructions on how to obtain police clearances lists some countries as requiring a resident document to get the clearance. Russia does not appear to be one of those. I would have your fiancee go to the Russian consulate in Kazakhstan and try to apply for what she needs. If she is not able to get one I would have her get a document from the Russian consulate stating that.

[slim 1,530]

If she never lived there, why would she need a police check from there?

Say it with me now... she never lived there. Say it again..... she never lived there. Got it?

[Peter + Olga 0]

Slim, I like your thinking: "Say it with me now... she never lived there. Say it again..... she never lived there. Got it?"

Unfortunately, we already filed the I-129F a couple of months ago and were completely honest about everything, including where she had lived, so that option is off the table. To tell you the truth, I was only dimly aware of what a 'police certificate' was a couple of months ago and I had no idea that this was going to turn into a big issue for us.

[slim 1,530]

Slim, I like your thinking: "Say it with me now... she never lived there. Say it again..... she never lived there. Got it?"

Unfortunately, we already filed the I-129F a couple of months ago and were completely honest about everything, including where she had lived, so that option is off the table. To tell you the truth, I was only dimly aware of what a 'police certificate' was a couple of months ago and I had no idea that this was going to turn into a big issue for us.

Well, a trip to the Russian embassy should clear it up. Have her take a $100 bill with her "for processing" and it should get cleared up pretty quick.

Good luck!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Slim, I like your thinking: "Say it with me now... she never lived there. Say it again..... she never lived there. Got it?"

Unfortunately, we already filed the I-129F a couple of months ago and were completely honest about everything, including where she had lived, so that option is off the table. To tell you the truth, I was only dimly aware of what a 'police certificate' was a couple of months ago and I had no idea that this was going to turn into a big issue for us.

How did I predict this?

Get the Kazakhstan certificate first. Now would be a good time, the certificates are valid for 1 year regardless of any expiration date it may say on the certificate itself. Take a copy of it to the police office inthe oblast where she lived and ask for the police certificate, fill out the forms and pay the fee. Pay a little extra to get it sooner. They will not care that she was not registered there.

It is not a big issue.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Well, a trip to the Russian embassy should clear it up. Have her take a $100 bill with her "for processing" and it should get cleared up pretty quick.

Good luck!

No need to go to the embassy. Our son got one from Russia and even though he is registered as a student, they never asked for that. She is not a Russian citizen there is not much they can do now, nor do they really care. She no longer lives there, it is no big deal. Whether or not she is registered to live there, if she had a police record it would show up.

If she brings a copy of the Kazakh police certificate it will go faster, we gave a copy of our sons Ukrainian police certificate. He paid exactly 200 rubles (less than $10) for speedy service.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is obviously country specific but the DOS webpage for instructions on how to obtain police clearances lists some countries as requiring a resident document to get the clearance. Russia does not appear to be one of those. I would have your fiancee go to the Russian consulate in Kazakhstan and try to apply for what she needs. If she is not able to get one I would have her get a document from the Russian consulate stating that.

In Russia this is handled by the main police office in each Oblast (province) The consulate would have no clue what to do. Or they might have a clue and tell you to go to the police office in the Oblast where she lived. She is able to get one.

[eekee 182]

No need to go to the embassy. Our son got one from Russia and even though he is registered as a student, they never asked for that. She is not a Russian citizen there is not much they can do now, nor do they really care. She no longer lives there, it is no big deal. Whether or not she is registered to live there, if she had a police record it would show up.

If she brings a copy of the Kazakh police certificate it will go faster, we gave a copy of our sons Ukrainian police certificate. He paid exactly 200 rubles (less than $10) for speedy service.

Universities register their full-time students, so he wouldn't have had any problems to begin with. But you're right in that it's not a big deal and these kinds of problems can be easily solved in Russia. In fact, I'm not even sure it's relevant. I know lots of people with fake registration documents and what have you.

Edited March 6, 2012 by eekee

[slim 1,530]

No need to go to the embassy.

There is if she's no longer in Russia. As I read it, she's in Kazakhstan. If so, it could be quite a pain to go to the oblast she lived in and get a police report. Russia's a big place!

[beejay 125]

In Russia this is handled by the main police office in each Oblast (province) The consulate would have no clue what to do. Or they might have a clue and tell you to go to the police office in the Oblast where she lived. She is able to get one.

Thanks for the correction. Those were the directions according to the DOS website.

[Peter + Olga 0]

There is if she's no longer in Russia. As I read it, she's in Kazakhstan. If so, it could be quite a pain to go to the oblast she lived in and get a police report. Russia's a big place!

Slim, you are exactly right. She's in Almaty, Kazakhstan which is where she lives. She's a Kazakh citizen. She used to live in Moscow and since that's listed on her I-129f she's going to need a police certificate to cover that period of time. So now I'm down to the question of whether I need to send her a plane ticket to Moscow to do this in person or if it's worth attempting to get a police certificate from the Russian consulate in Almaty. I've heard consulates can be notoriously slow at this but obviously it would be much more convenient if she could go that route. I guess the third alternative would be giving someone in Moscow power of attorney to handle this for her. I think she still has some friends there who might possibly be able to help if she went that route. So, what do you think? A) apply for a PC at the local consulate in Kazakhstan and hope it doesn't take forever to get, B) have her fly to Moscow to deal with this there, or C) try to set up a power of attorney for a friend or lawyer to get this for her in Moscow. Thanks for all your help everybody!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Slim, you are exactly right. She's in Almaty, Kazakhstan which is where she lives. She's a Kazakh citizen. She used to live in Moscow and since that's listed on her I-129f she's going to need a police certificate to cover that period of time. So now I'm down to the question of whether I need to send her a plane ticket to Moscow to do this in person or if it's worth attempting to get a police certificate from the Russian consulate in Almaty. I've heard consulates can be notoriously slow at this but obviously it would be much more convenient if she could go that route. I guess the third alternative would be giving someone in Moscow power of attorney to handle this for her. I think she still has some friends there who might possibly be able to help if she went that route. So, what do you think? A) apply for a PC at the local consulate in Kazakhstan and hope it doesn't take forever to get, B) have her fly to Moscow to deal with this there, or C) try to set up a power of attorney for a friend or lawyer to get this for her in Moscow. Thanks for all your help everybody!

I would avoid the consulate route as I have not heard of good results that way. Pay your nickle and take your chances. In our experience it was necessary for the app;icant to appear in person and show their ID and provide passport photos (in both Russia and Ukraine) in order to request the police certificate. We did notify them that the Ukrainian certificate would be picked up by Alla's mom and they were OK with that. I do not know if you can do a "power of attorney" to apply for the certificate.

Universities register their full-time students, so he wouldn't have had any problems to begin with. But you're right in that it's not a big deal and these kinds of problems can be easily solved in Russia. In fact, I'm not even sure it's relevant. I know lots of people with fake registration documents and what have you.

Yes he is registered but they never asked about that. They never asked for any proof of registration in Russia.

I do not think it is an issue. As for the logistics of getting the thing, that's another story

[Slade&Natasha 7]

Slim, you are exactly right. She's in Almaty, Kazakhstan which is where she lives. She's a Kazakh citizen. She used to live in Moscow and since that's listed on her I-129f she's going to need a police certificate to cover that period of time. So now I'm down to the question of whether I need to send her a plane ticket to Moscow to do this in person or if it's worth attempting to get a police certificate from the Russian consulate in Almaty. I've heard consulates can be notoriously slow at this but obviously it would be much more convenient if she could go that route. I guess the third alternative would be giving someone in Moscow power of attorney to handle this for her. I think she still has some friends there who might possibly be able to help if she went that route. So, what do you think? A) apply for a PC at the local consulate in Kazakhstan and hope it doesn't take forever to get, B) have her fly to Moscow to deal with this there, or C) try to set up a power of attorney for a friend or lawyer to get this for her in Moscow. Thanks for all your help everybody!

We had an agency do this for Natasha, who was also not registered in Moscow, and they did it in under a week (for a good chunk of change, but certainly less than the cost of a plane ticket). PM us for details.