China Police Certificate

[samandcarol 13]

So we were all excited that our immigrant visa interview date (in Taipei, Taiwan) had finally arrived on March 7, 2022.  But my wife's case was denied under Section 221(g) because some documents we provided were not acceptable.  Since we had lived in China for over one year (2010-2012), we were required to provide of police report for that period.  At that time we did get a police report (which was no easy task for a Taiwanese citizen) at that time.  However, when it was submitted at the interview, it was not accepted on the grounds that it had not been notarized.  We have been told it is nearly impossible for Taiwanese to get this done in China, due to travel restrictions and strained relations.  Anyone have experience with this?  What can we do?

[Redro 4,609]

6 hours ago, samandcarol said:

So we were all excited that our immigrant visa interview date (in Taipei, Taiwan) had finally arrived on March 7, 2022.  But my wife's case was denied under Section 221(g) because some documents we provided were not acceptable.  Since we had lived in China for over one year (2010-2012), we were required to provide of police report for that period.  At that time we did get a police report (which was no easy task for a Taiwanese citizen) at that time.  However, when it was submitted at the interview, it was not accepted on the grounds that it had not been notarized.  We have been told it is nearly impossible for Taiwanese to get this done in China, due to travel restrictions and strained relations.  Anyone have experience with this?  What can we do?

The best plan of action is to hire an agent to notarize the document for you. 

This situation is not the same. But, an idea on how to obtain a PCC from China. 

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Kor2USA

[samandcarol 13]

I have a follow-up question about police certificates in general.  According to US Department of State website, a police certificate is required "if you have even lived in another country for 12 months or more..."  Does that mean continuous 12 months or cumulative?  What is the meaning of "lived" in this case?  Does it depend on the type of visa that you had when in that country?  Or whether you stayed in one place or not?

[Chancy 6,239]

1 hour ago, samandcarol said:

Does that mean continuous 12 months or cumulative?  What is the meaning of "lived" in this case?  Does it depend on the type of visa that you had when in that country?  Or whether you stayed in one place or not?

 

Stayed in the country for 12 months or more at a time, regardless of visa type.

 

[samandcarol 13]

9 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Stayed in the country for 12 months or more at a time, regardless of visa type.

 

@Chancy

Thank you for your reply!  Can you give me more details about this?  How do you know about this?  Did you experience it for yourself, or hear that from someone else? 

[Redro 4,609]

11 hours ago, samandcarol said:

I have a follow-up question about police certificates in general.  According to US Department of State website, a police certificate is required "if you have even lived in another country for 12 months or more..."  Does that mean continuous 12 months or cumulative?  What is the meaning of "lived" in this case?  Does it depend on the type of visa that you had when in that country?  Or whether you stayed in one place or not?

If you listed the address in your DS260 and it exceeds 6 months I think they can request a PCC from that country. Even though they indicate 1 year on the US Department of State website.  Even if you are staying there as a tourist. 

 

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/tw/tw-iv-kvisa.asp  has this direction:

 

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must obtain a police certificate from your country of nationality if you lived there for more than 6 months at any time. Also, obtain a police certificate from the country of your residence if your presence there was for 6 months or more. 

 

I'm thinking they can pick and choose when to request a PCC. 

[samandcarol 13]

11 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

If you listed the address in your DS260 and it exceeds 6 months I think they can request a PCC from that country. Even though they indicate 1 year on the US Department of State website.  Even if you are staying there as a tourist. 

 

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/tw/tw-iv-kvisa.asp  has this direction:

 

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must obtain a police certificate from your country of nationality if you lived there for more than 6 months at any time. Also, obtain a police certificate from the country of your residence if your presence there was for 6 months or more. 

 

I'm thinking they can pick and choose when to request a PCC. 

@Kor2USA

Thanks for the info!  Our case is an IR-1 visa and the period of foreign residence was about 10 years ago.  It isn't listed on DS260, so I don't think this would apply.

[Redro 4,609]

20 minutes ago, samandcarol said:

@Kor2USA

Thanks for the info!  Our case is an IR-1 visa and the period of foreign residence was about 10 years ago.  It isn't listed on DS260, so I don't think this would apply.

Was the beneficiary under 16 at the time? 

K1 and IR1/CR1 PCC requirements are the same: 

 

 

Korea has the following requirements: (https://www.ustraveldocs.com/kr/kr-iv-policerecords.asp)

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must obtain a police certificate from your country of nationality if you lived there for more than 6 months at any time. Also, obtain a police certificate from the country of your residence if your presence there was for 6 months or more. Police certificates from other countries are also required if your stay was 12 months or more after age 16.

 

Seems like the wording is a little more clear. Your stay needs to be 12 months or more. I'm thinking  two stays of 6 months each with a break in between wouldn't trigger the need for a PCC. 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kor2USA

[samandcarol 13]

41 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Was the beneficiary under 16 at the time? 

K1 and IR1/CR1 PCC requirements are the same: 

You can see it says iv-kvisa (immigrant visa/ k visa) in the address.

 

Korea has the following requirements:

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must obtain a police certificate from your country of nationality if you lived there for more than 6 months at any time. Also, obtain a police certificate from the country of your residence if your presence there was for 6 months or more. Police certificates from other countries are also required if your stay was 12 months or more after age 16.

 

Seems like the wording is a little more clear. Your stay needs to be 12 months or more. I'm thinking  two stays of 6 months each with a break in between wouldn't trigger the need for a PCC. 

 

@Kor2USA

The beneficiary was over 16 at the time.  We have gotten a police certificate for her country of nationality (Taiwan), and that is also where she is residing at present.  At the time she was in China during a two year period, we went in and out a number of times, with the longest stay in China being 182 days.  It would seem to me that a police certificate for China is not required.

[Redro 4,609]

16 minutes ago, samandcarol said:

@Kor2USA

The beneficiary was over 16 at the time.  We have gotten a police certificate for her country of nationality (Taiwan), and that is also where she is residing at present.  At the time she was in China during a two year period, we went in and out a number of times, with the longest stay in China being 182 days.  It would seem to me that a police certificate for China is not required.

I'm confused. 

Where did you wife say she was living between 2010-2012? Did she write down an address based out of China? Did she write an address based out of Taiwan? Did she list several addresses during that time? 

For whatever reason, the information she gave them/or the information they have on her triggered a request for a Chinese background check. You could argue you do not have to provide it but AIT lists a 6 month or more residency requirement and not 1 year. So, I would try to obtain the correct document. 

 

[samandcarol 13]

1 hour ago, Kor2USA said:

I'm confused. 

Where did you wife say she was living between 2010-2012? Did she write down an address based out of China? Did she write an address based out of Taiwan? Did she list several addresses during that time? 

For whatever reason, the information she gave them/or the information they have on her triggered a request for a Chinese background check. You could argue you do not have to provide it but AIT lists a 6 month or more residency requirement and not 1 year. So, I would try to obtain the correct document. 

 

@Kor2USA

I appreciate your continued interest in our case!  Actually the situation is that we had gotten a police certificate during our time in China (not knowing when we might use it).  In preparation for the visa interview, we saw the required documents listed by AIT included a police certificate for any foreign country lived in for 1 year or more.  So we brought the certificate to the interview.  The interviewer told her that the document couldn’t be accepted because didn’t have the required notarization from the local authority.

 

As we were looking into getting the proper notarization, we reviewed our original entry and departure dates.  While the certificate listed dates that were over one year, our actual entry and departure dates show that we had exited and re-entered China multiple times within the time frame of the certificate — no period in China was longer than 182 days.

 

Due this, we are trying petition AIT to reconsider the necessity of the police certificate (to actually get it is quite troublesome).

 

I’m not sure what you mean when you say “AIT lists a 6 month or more residency requirement and not 1 year”.  Where do you see this information?

[Redro 4,609]

37 minutes ago, samandcarol said:

@Kor2USA

I appreciate your continued interest in our case!  Actually the situation is that we had gotten a police certificate during our time in China (not knowing when we might use it).  In preparation for the visa interview, we saw the required documents listed by AIT included a police certificate for any foreign country lived in for 1 year or more.  So we brought the certificate to the interview.  The interviewer told her that the document couldn’t be accepted because didn’t have the required notarization from the local authority.

 

As we were looking into getting the proper notarization, we reviewed our original entry and departure dates.  While the certificate listed dates that were over one year, our actual entry and departure dates show that we had exited and re-entered China multiple times within the time frame of the certificate — no period in China was longer than 182 days.

 

Due this, we are trying petition AIT to reconsider the necessity of the police certificate (to actually get it is quite troublesome).

 

I’m not sure what you mean when you say “AIT lists a 6 month or more residency requirement and not 1 year”.  Where do you see this information?

Apologies. You click follow the links and then discover you are no longer on the AIT website but you've gone to the  "Apply for US Visa in Taiwan" website and then find yourself at ustraveldocs 🤔 (I was looking at requirements for K1 visas [not country specific] so disregard that statement). 

 

I searched the AIT website for clarification and found this:

https://www.ait.org.tw/visas/immigrant-visas/family-immigration/the-interview/ 

Click on the link for the list of items you're required to bring to the interview

 

If you are older than 16 years of age:  The original police certificate from your country of current residence and countries of previous residence.If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:

1. You are older than 16 years of age;
2. You obtained a police certificate and submitted it to NVC more than one year ago; and
3. You still live in the country that issued the police certificate.

They don't mention how long residency is supposed to be... 

 

P.S I'm interested in this because so many people have issues with police clearance certificates from China (after they've left) and Visa Reciprocity table states this document is "available" 

 

 

[Chancy 6,239]

8 hours ago, samandcarol said:

the period of foreign residence was about 10 years ago.  It isn't listed on DS260, so I don't think this would apply.

 

The DS-260 form instructions are clear that all residence addresses since the age of 16 must be listed.  Even if there were short international trips in between, if your wife established residence in China, it should have been listed.  From your posts above, it seems that your wife actually lived in China, not just vacationed there.  In any case, there's no point arguing semantics or calculations of days now.  The consul officer already determined that your wife's period of stay qualifies as residence in China that requires a police certificate.

 

From the Department of State's manual on supporting documents for immigrant visa applicants -- https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050404.html

"Police certificates are required from any countries of previous residence in which an applicant has lived for one year or more since attaining the age of 16."

 

[samandcarol 13]

@Chancy Thanks for your input!

@Kor2USA I have attached a clip from the interview invitation letter that AIT send us.

In English it means:

  Taiwan Police Certificate (each visa applicant at least 16 years old and has lived in Taiwan over six months)

  Foreign Police Certificate (at least 16 years old and lived a foreign country over 12 months;  if you have lived in many different countries, you must provide a police certificate for every one that you lived in for over 12 months)

 

Today I called AIT to ask about the police certificate requirement.  The agent told me very clearly that a police certificate is required only if a person has lived in a foreign country for over 12 "straight" months.  Straight was the word that he used.

[Redro 4,609]

@samandcarol this is good news! you need to show you haven't live in China for over 12 months to get that visa. 

Good luck! i would harass them until they give you that visa.