HELP!! 221g police clearance

[LoriJamsPatchett 5]

My husband (CR1)had interview today at the Algerian Embassy. He got a 221g because they asked for police certificates where he was living illegally 6-9 months. Spain, Finland. France was easy to get did it online but Spain and Finland I can’t figure out how to get it ordered online. He’s in Algeria and can’t return to those countries.  Has anyone been in this situation? Also is it a good sign they kept his passport and all our proof?

[koko11 0]

Hi!  Please correct me if I'm wrong but don't they require police clearances/ criminal record certificates Only from those who lived in foreign countries for 1 complete year or more..??  That's what I know... Otherwise it would be a nonsense! It would mean one has to provide police certificates from any country He/She would visit even on tourist visa! How is it that they requested all these certificates from your husband and how did you manage to get them especially given that he was illegal in these 3 countries???  

[SalishSea 17,970]

On 7/28/2021 at 11:52 AM, koko11 said:

Hi!  Please correct me if I'm wrong but don't they require police clearances/ criminal record certificates Only from those who lived in foreign countries for 1 complete year or more..??  That's what I know... Otherwise it would be a nonsense! It would mean one has to provide police certificates from any country He/She would visit even on tourist visa! How is it that they requested all these certificates from your husband and how did you manage to get them especially given that he was illegal in these 3 countries???  

6 months, not one year.

[Chancy 6,243]

On 7/29/2021 at 2:52 AM, koko11 said:

don't they require police clearances/ criminal record certificates Only from those who lived in foreign countries for 1 complete year or more..??

 

15 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

6 months, not one year.

 

The basic requirement is actually 6 months for country of nationality and current residence, and 1 year for previous country of residence after turning 16.  Police certificates are also required from any country where the visa applicant was arrested for any reason, regardless of their length of stay and age at the time of arrest.  Also, the consul officer may require police certificates if they have concerns that the applicant has a police record in that country.  That last point seems to be what happened in the OP's husband's case as he had lived illegally in some countries.

 

More info in the DOS FAM here -- https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050404.html

 

[koko11 0]

It's 1 year for ANY other country where the applicant may have lived in (in the past), 6 months for the country of nationality and 6 months for the current country of residence(other than the nationality country). It's clearly explained in the official US website for travel & visa aka: travel.state.gov

Funny how we didn't get any answer from Lori as she was expecting some help...

Anyway, hope she got what she was looking for.

 

[LoriJamsPatchett 5]

On 7/28/2021 at 2:52 PM, koko11 said:

Hi!  Please correct me if I'm wrong but don't they require police clearances/ criminal record certificates Only from those who lived in foreign countries for 1 complete year or more..??  That's what I know... Otherwise it would be a nonsense! It would mean one has to provide police certificates from any country He/She would visit even on tourist visa! How is it that they requested all these certificates from your husband and how did you manage to get them especially given that he was illegal in these 3 countries???  

That’s what the requirements were, but they did still end up asking for them. I spent a stressed out day looking up Spain’s and found a website where someone in Spain ordered it for us for a fee and then I had it shipped to my husband. Once they finally received all the police clearances they approved him 3 days later and he is now here.

[Chancy 6,243]

4 minutes ago, koko11 said:

It's 1 year for ANY other country where the applicant may have lived in (in the past)

 

Only previous countries of residence after turning 16 (aside from country of nationality and current residence).

 

[koko11 0]

1 minute ago, Chancy said:

 

Only previous countries of residence after turning 16 (aside from country of nationality and current residence).

 

My dear, that's what I'm trying to say... it's obvious.

[Chancy 6,243]

4 minutes ago, koko11 said:

My dear, that's what I'm trying to say... it's obvious.

 

Your attempt at being condescending is funny when there's a record of what you actually said --

 

22 minutes ago, koko11 said:

It's 1 year for ANY other country where the applicant may have lived in (in the past)

 

Which is not what the Department of State requires and does not mean the same as what I posted --

 

12 minutes ago, Chancy said:

Only previous countries of residence after turning 16 (aside from country of nationality and current residence).

 

[LoriJamsPatchett 5]

51 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

 

The basic requirement is actually 6 months for country of nationality and current residence, and 1 year for previous country of residence after turning 16.  Police certificates are also required from any country where the visa applicant was arrested for any reason, regardless of their length of stay and age at the time of arrest.  Also, the consul officer may require police certificates if they have concerns that the applicant has a police record in that country.  That last point seems to be what happened in the OP's husband's case as he had lived illegally in some countries.

 

More info in the DOS FAM here -- https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050404.html

 

Yes that’s what we figured they thought he had a record but luckily he did not.

[koko11 0]

4 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Your attempt at being condescending is funny when there's a record of what you actually said --

 

 

Which is not what the Department of State requires and does not mean the same as what I posted --

 

 

I don't understand your point of view and I'm not here to play with words... What I wrote was based on what I read on the official website and yes it clearly says that these requirements are for those who are 16 years and more and 1 year or more of previous residence periods in countries other than the country of nationality.  For those who need the exact word for word text they can visit the official website but I think we all know the meaning of this since we are on a dedicated forum. 

[Adventine 3,201]

29 minutes ago, koko11 said:

My dear, that's what I'm trying to say... it's obvious.

It's not obvious. There was an important clarification which was not clear in your post. Many people come to this forum as complete beginners so it's worth being as precise as possible.

 

Anyway, the OP's question has been resolved. Others who encounter the same situation in the future will have this thread, and the applicable link from the DOS FAM, as a reference.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Adventine

[koko11 0]

3 minutes ago, Adventine said:

It's not obvious. There was an important clarification which was not clear in your post. Many people come to this forum as complete beginners so it's worth being as precise as possible.

 

Anyway, the OP's question has been resolved. Others who encounter the same situation in the future will have this thread, and the applicable link from the DOS FAM, as a reference.

 

What wasn't obvious??? The info was clear: the police certificate is required from any person who have lived in any other country for 1 year or more (other than their country of nationality) and from this country authority . And yes for those who are 16 years of age or older. I'm talking about the SPECIAL case Lori has discussed here, NOTHING else. My answer is regarding her husband foreign countries of residence issue. And it's obvious that since they are married he must be at least over 18 years old, not only 16! That's why I didn't mention the age criteria.

And why are you reacting this way???

Yes I'm a beginner on this forum but that doesn't give you the right to speculate on my level of knowledge. You don't know me.  We are here to help each other that's all. Thanks for your interest.

[Chancy 6,243]

1 hour ago, koko11 said:

What wasn't obvious??? The info was clear: the police certificate is required from any person who have lived in any other country for 1 year or more (other than their country of nationality) and from this country authority . And yes for those who are 16 years of age or older.

 

Here's an example -- A Belgian citizen applies for a CR1 visa when he is 30 years old and living in Belgium.  When he was 7, he and his family moved to France, then they moved back to Belgium when he was 12.  At his visa interview, he presented only his Belgian police certificate.

 

If the requirement was for police certificates from ANY country an applicant has lived in for 1 year or more (in the past), like you said, then the 30-year-old applicant in the example would have needed to submit one from France as well.  But that's not the requirement according to the Department of State manual, which I linked above.  The applicant would NOT need a police certificate from France because he did not live there after turning 16.  It is not required even if he lived in France for 5 years as a child and he is already 30 years old at the time of his interview.

 

Words and details matter in US immigration.  It's important to be accurate as even a slight misunderstanding of the requirements could lead readers to waste their time/money/effort, and prolong their separation from their families.  But no one is born understanding these requirements and we all start out as beginners in this visa journey.  And people other than the original poster, and who might have similar circumstances to my example applicant above, could be reading this thread.  That's why we take the time to share information and correct misinterpretations that we see in these forums.

 

[koko11 0]

9 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Here's an example -- A Belgian citizen applies for a CR1 visa when he is 30 years old and living in Belgium.  When he was 7, he and his family moved to France, then they moved back to Belgium when he was 12.  At his visa interview, he presented only his Belgian police certificate.

 

If the requirement was for police certificates from ANY country an applicant has lived in for 1 year or more (in the past), like you said, then the 30-year-old applicant in the example would have needed to submit one from France as well.  But that's not the requirement according to the Department of State manual, which I linked above.  The applicant would NOT need a police certificate from France because he did not live there after turning 16.  It is not required even if he lived in France for 5 years as a child and he is already 30 years old at the time of his interview.

 

Words and details matter in US immigration.  It's important to be accurate as even a slight misunderstanding of the requirements could lead readers to waste their time/money/effort, and prolong their separation from their families.  But no one is born understanding these requirements and we all start out as beginners in this visa journey.  And people other than the original poster, and who might have similar circumstances to my example applicant above, could be reading this thread.  That's why we take the time to share information and correct misinterpretations that we see in these forums.

 

Thanks for sharing the info and for the clarification Chancy! 

Yet there is a misunderstanding with regards to what I wrote previously... As a matter of fact I wasn't discussing the age criteria that would imply that an applicant should be providing a police certificate or not.  My concern was to help clarify the situation of the police certificate for Lori in accordance to her husband situation in particular; as she was desperately looking for help and nobody since she posted her topic last March ever replied to her!  Nothing else!  I wasn't trying to explain all the criteria for the CR1 visa or to summarize the ins and outs of the immigration law.

I was just explaining the fact that this request shouldn't be asked from her husband since he didn't complete a full year (or more) of residence in any of these 3 countries previously. Whereas she clearly said that he was residing in Spain, Finland and France for a very short period of time (6/9 months only).  

Also, I didn't speak about the 16 years of age criteria since it was obvious that he was (at least) 18 years old or more since he was a married adult(that's why I replied by saying that it was obvious, lol!)

Guys I just wanted to help her know this fact (with regards to her situation Only! I wasn't talking in general) as this was the first time ever I have heard that they requested this type of document with regards to a shorter than usual period of residence. Now, I can understand that they may have wanted to dig a little bit more in these short residence periods to be sure that he was "clean", as a matter of safety.  But I couldn't have guessed this from the beginning because I thought that Lori would reply to me and shed some light on this situation as I also was asking for more clarifications from her; to avoid making wrong speculations...

What stroke me was to see that instead of getting some nice feedback I was almost getting blamed for not having quoted the minimum of age criteria..!  Sincerely, I wouldn't have imagined that some members wouldn't be aware of this criteria since it was clearly indicated on the official immigration and travel website that if you are 16 years old or older you should provide a copy of your police/court record for the respective country of residence.

Anyway, as I said earlier my intention was to help Lori (and perhaps some other members) with what I know. I agree that more details should be provided for any person who is new to this law but again we are human, aren't we??

I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you guys also would be more understanding. 

Thanks for everything and good luck to everyone!