Police Certificates? (merged)

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

14 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

So this is how I arrived at the conclusion. From VisaJourney so not state.gov or AIT itself. Now, doubting what I thought to be true.

https://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Taiwan&cty=Taipei

So because she was only a tourist there, it's not residence, and therefore she does not need a police certificate, even if it was over a year? How do we prove that she was only a tourist? That passport is long gone. 

I'm not sure where the reviewer got that list, unless it was on his/her K-1 instructions.  As I said, our official CR-1 interview letter just states "countries of previous residence".  Over a year might pose a problem.  However, in your case, your wife was never registered as a resident.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Zin-Zin 21]

7 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I don’t see how you’re going to get out of providing a police cert for a place she lived in for over a year.

 

Tourists go on vacations- for weeks, maybe a couple of months.   But over a year? That is actually residing there.

Yeah, I agree. Tell that to the Korean Police Department. They literally said she cannot have one. 

[Redro 4,611]

38 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

I'm expecting to be given a checklist at NVC b/c we did not provide a requested police certificate. 

It's a place my wife lived for less than a year, but the current embassy of interview, Taipei, requires any country in which she lived more than 6 months. We are requesting to move to Paris so maybe that happens before NVC looks at our documents and this will be a moot point. 

But...we're working on getting it anyway. 

My wife stayed with me in South Korea for ~10 months. She called the embassy in Paris to get a police certificate.

And they told her no! They told her no because she was NOT a resident at the time. She went on visa runs for our time there and was a tourist the entire time. According to the Korean embassy, they do NOT give police certificates to tourists. 

How do I move forward with this?

She was told this on the phone twice, and she has already emailed them, hoping to get the rejection and reason in writing, but not sure how that will work out. 

Is there anything else we can do to show that she cannot get one? 

Is NVC requesting the police check or are you thinking you need to supply one? 

When I uploaded my civil documents. 

South Korea and South Africa police checks were required documents. 

If the total time spent in South Korea was under 12 months. Write a letter explaining she lived in Korea for less than 12 months and a PCC is not required. 

If the total time spent in South Korea was over 12 months. Write a letter explaining she was staying in Korea as a tourist and Korea does not supply PCCs to people who are not/have never been residents. 

The letter should get you DQ'ed but you might encounter issues after the interview. 

ETA: If NVC is not requesting a Korean PCC you do not have to upload the explanation letter OR the PCC. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Zin-Zin 21]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

However, in your case, your wife was never registered as a resident.

Exactly. So how do I prove that to NVC or whatever embassy we eventually interview in?

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

6 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

Exactly. So how do I prove that to NVC or whatever embassy we eventually interview in?

I think @ROK2USA suggestion for a letter is appropriate... IF YOU NEED IT. 

[SalishSea 17,836]

I wonder what South Korea does if someone who is ‘visiting’ for 12 months commits a crime?   Surely there must be a record.

[Zin-Zin 21]

7 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

Is NVC requesting the police check or are you thinking you need to supply one? 

When I uploaded my civil documents. 

South Korea and South Africa police checks were required documents. 

If the total time spent in South Korea was under 12 months. Write a letter explaining she lived in Korea for less than 12 months and a PCC is not required. 

If the total time spent in South Korea was over 12 months. Write a letter explaining she was staying in Korea as a tourist and Korea does not supply PCCs to people who are not/have never been residents. 

The letter should get you DQ'ed but you might encounter issues after the interview. 

 

The NVC asked for 2 police certificates we were not expecting after we submitted the DS-260. We did not expect them because we followed the guidelines here and there is nothing, nothing, nothing about the embassies being able to modify civil document requirements. 

We have uploaded a letter explaining our logic for not needing them. 

After looking more here, this is straight from the official Korean government website. She needs an Alien Registration Number to apply and NEVER had one because she just went on visa runs. (We were young once!)

 

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

I wonder what South Korea does if someone who is ‘visiting’ for 12 months commits a crime?   Surely there must be a record.

that's what I thought as well. Like, run a police records search and export the result. Why so difficult?

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

1 minute ago, Zin-Zin said:

The NVC asked for 2 police certificates we were not expecting after we submitted the DS-260. We did not expect them because we followed the guidelines here and there is nothing, nothing, nothing about the embassies being able to modify civil document requirements. 

We have uploaded a letter explaining our logic for not needing them. 

After looking more here, this is straight from the official Korean government website. She needs an Alien Registration Number to apply and NEVER had one because she just went on visa runs. (We were young once!)

 

I would keep that to explain why she can't get a PCC......IF THEY ASK for one. 

[Zin-Zin 21]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I would keep that to explain why she can't get a PCC......IF THEY ASK for one. 

Roger that. 

If we do get a checklist for this I'm going to request to expedite because of NVC delay. There is NO guidance that I see ANYWHERE that an embassy can alter civil document requirements. If, if, if...hopefully does not come to that!

[Redro 4,611]

9 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I wonder what South Korea does if someone who is ‘visiting’ for 12 months commits a crime?   Surely there must be a record.

I know a few people who engaged in visa runs pre-pandemic. 

I won't go into details but getting picked up as Westerner for any type of crime is highly unlikely. 

Unless you make a Korean really angry and the call the police on you. 

ETA: Korea is one of the countries that are A-Okay with visa runs. 

I know a couple of people who would take a trip to Japan for a few hours and then come back to Korea for another 3 months. (this wasn't possible during the pandemic... more pre-2020)

Edited May 25, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Zin-Zin 21]

1 minute ago, ROK2USA said:

I know a few people who engaged in visa runs pre-pandemic. 

I won't go into details but getting picked up as Westerner for any type of crime is highly unlikely. 

Unless you make a Korean really angry and the call the police on you. 

ETA: Korea is one of the countries that are A-Okay with visa runs. 

I know a couple of people who will take a trip to Japan for a few hours and then come back to Korea for another 3 months. 

Yes, that's what she did. Usually weekend trips. The problem is that we have no proof of this. It was 15 years ago. 

[Redro 4,611]

8 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

The NVC asked for 2 police certificates we were not expecting after we submitted the DS-260. We did not expect them because we followed the guidelines here and there is nothing, nothing, nothing about the embassies being able to modify civil document requirements. 

We have uploaded a letter explaining our logic for not needing them. 

After looking more here, this is straight from the official Korean government website. She needs an Alien Registration Number to apply and NEVER had one because she just went on visa runs. (We were young once!)

 

that's what I thought as well. Like, run a police records search and export the result. Why so difficult?

They don't have a record of your wife in the system.

She was a tourist.

As far as they are concerned she was only ever in Korea for max 3 months at a time.

They don't care if the total was over 12 months or 3 years.... 

Unfortunately, US rules apply to whether or not you require a PCC and if it is not available you'll have to state the reasons why and hope you get DQ'ed and hope the CO who interviews you doesn't push for one.

A few months back, a man was posting about his difficulty in obtaining a Chinese PCC for his wife. It was unavailable because she was never officially a resident (but legally in the country for 12+ months). CO didn't care. He tried to obtain the PCC for months and finally stopped posting updates. 

[Zin-Zin 21]

5 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

A few months back, a man was posting about his difficulty in obtaining a Chinese PCC for his wife. It was unavailable because she was never officially a resident (but legally in the country for 12+ months). CO didn't care. He tried to obtain the PCC for months and finally stopped posting updates. 

Jeez. So our future plans of living in America might all be lost b/c of a PCC that she technically doesn't need (living in Korea less than 12 months)?

Do you remember the user name of that case?

[Redro 4,611]

14 minutes ago, Zin-Zin said:

Jeez. So our future plans of living in America might all be lost b/c of a PCC that she technically doesn't need (living in Korea less than 12 months)?

Do you remember the user name of that case?

Take it one step at a time. 

If the dates your wife provided was less than 12 months. Upload the information from NVC stating she lived there for less than 12 months and does not need the PCC. 

This should get you DQ'ed. 

Then hope and pray the CO agrees with you... 

What were the dates you provided on the DS260 for her time in Korea and the other country? 

I would look at the US Embassy France website to see what they suggest... 12 months or 6 months for PCCs... 

Edited May 25, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Zin-Zin 21]

3 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

Take it one step at a time. 

If the dates your wife provided was less than 12 months. Upload the information from NVC stating she lived there for less than 12 months and does not need the PCC. 

This should get you DQ'ed. 

Then hope and pray the CO agrees with you... 

What were the dates you provided on the DS260 for her time in Korea and the other country? 

I don't remember off hand, but the total time in Korea was 10 months and Ireland was 7 months. 

Crazy how if AOS you don't need any of this. Seems like punishing people for following the rules. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Zin-Zin