What to do when we are unable to optain police report (from Bahrain)

[senthamarai 2]

Hello, I'm sponsoring my parents for their green cards. They went to the interview at the US embassy in our home country (Sri Lanka) yesterday. Dad got approved but mom's has a request for a document. This is for a police report. She worked in Bahrain about 42 years ago for about 12 months. She doesn't have any documents related to that stay any more. No old passports, or any ID she might have had in Bahrain. It all got destroyed in a fire. When I tried to obtain a police report from Bahrain they informed me that they will not be able to do so without an ID she might have used there all those years ago. The person I chat with wasn't even sure if they had the same ID system all those years ago. So I mentioned this when submitting docs to NVC and we got DQ'd. We were able to get police report for other places she lived. At the embassy though they have sent her back with a request for a police report. She had tried to explain but they shut her down with 'Nope we need a report'. We don't even have a Bahrain embassy in Sri Lanka. What do we do in this situation? I'm sure people have gone through the same situation.

[TBoneTX 44,864]

Others here may have better ideas, but here's one:  Contact the person in Bahrain to whom you spoke, and try to get an official letter (letterhead, agency stamp, etc.) stating what they told you.  If you also have official records of the destructive fire, gather those.  You can't provide what isn't available.

 

Barring the above, involve the immigration liaison in your Congressman's office.  There should be a form on their website, giving them your permission to intercede on your behalf.  Once that's submitted, the office should be able to act rather rapidly.

[Boiler 44,985]

Police, Court, Prison Records
Police Certificates
Available

Fees: 1 BD

Document Name: Good Conduct Certificate

Issuing Authority: Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Crime Detection & Evidence, Department of Criminal Information

Special Seal(s) / Color / Format: White paper, English on left, Arabic on right, stamped and signed at the bottom of the paper in the middle. Photo of applicant included.

Issuing Authority Personnel Title: Varies, typically Director General

Registration Criteria: Must be a Bahrain citizen or resident with valid CPR card/residency permit.

Procedure for Obtaining:

General Requirements:

Copy of a valid passport
Personal photo with white or grey background
Letter from the entity wishing to employ the applicant or the requesting party.  In the case of an immigrant visa applicant, U.S. Embassy Manama does not provide this letter.  Applicants may simply use the information packet sent from NVC.
Original fingerprints of the fingers and palm if the applicant is outside the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Special Requirements for Non-Bahrainis (in addition, to the general requirements)

Copy of the Bahraini ID Card (CPR)
Copy of the residence permit (residence permit in Kingdom of Bahrain is required for 6 months in continuous manner)
Certified Copies Available: Yes

Alternate Documents: N/A

Exceptions: N/A

Comments: Available through Bahrain embassies abroad.  For those abroad, this service is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Information can be found on their website.  May be issued in electronic format, and can be verified through their website.

 

[senthamarai 2]

3 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Others here may have better ideas, but here's one:  Contact the person in Bahrain to whom you spoke, and try to get an official letter (letterhead, agency stamp, etc.) stating what they told you.  If you also have official records of the destructive fire, gather those.  You can't provide what isn't available.

 

Barring the above, involve the immigration liaison in your Congressman's office.  There should be a form on their website, giving them your permission to intercede on your behalf.  Once that's submitted, the office should be able to act rather rapidly.

Thank you so much for this response. We are pretty much clueless right now and this helps.

[senthamarai 2]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Police, Court, Prison Records
Police Certificates
Available

Fees: 1 BD

Document Name: Good Conduct Certificate

Issuing Authority: Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Crime Detection & Evidence, Department of Criminal Information

Special Seal(s) / Color / Format: White paper, English on left, Arabic on right, stamped and signed at the bottom of the paper in the middle. Photo of applicant included.

Issuing Authority Personnel Title: Varies, typically Director General

Registration Criteria: Must be a Bahrain citizen or resident with valid CPR card/residency permit.

Procedure for Obtaining:

General Requirements:

Copy of a valid passport
Personal photo with white or grey background
Letter from the entity wishing to employ the applicant or the requesting party.  In the case of an immigrant visa applicant, U.S. Embassy Manama does not provide this letter.  Applicants may simply use the information packet sent from NVC.
Original fingerprints of the fingers and palm if the applicant is outside the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Special Requirements for Non-Bahrainis (in addition, to the general requirements)

Copy of the Bahraini ID Card (CPR)
Copy of the residence permit (residence permit in Kingdom of Bahrain is required for 6 months in continuous manner)
Certified Copies Available: Yes

Alternate Documents: N/A

Exceptions: N/A

Comments: Available through Bahrain embassies abroad.  For those abroad, this service is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Information can be found on their website.  May be issued in electronic format, and can be verified through their website.

 

Thanks.These are the directions she got from the embassy (and it's also found in the immigration department site) but as per this, she should have Bahrain ID and  residence documents. She has nothing. It's been more than 40 years. She doesn't even have the old passport with the Bahrain visa.

[TBoneTX 44,864]

3 hours ago, senthamarai said:

Thank you so much for this response. We are pretty much clueless right now and this helps.

You're most welcome.  Keep us apprised of your progress.

[senthamarai 2]

On 6/12/2024 at 5:55 PM, TBoneTX said:

Others here may have better ideas, but here's one:  Contact the person in Bahrain to whom you spoke, and try to get an official letter (letterhead, agency stamp, etc.) stating what they told you.  If you also have official records of the destructive fire, gather those.  You can't provide what isn't available.

 

Barring the above, involve the immigration liaison in your Congressman's office.  There should be a form on their website, giving them your permission to intercede on your behalf.  Once that's submitted, the office should be able to act rather rapidly.

-So we have asked the foreign ministry in Sri Lanka to contact Bahrain officials and get a response from them (any response really - yes, a police report can be somehow obtained or, no, there is no possibility) as that is one thing the US embassy is probably looking for

-The destructive fire was due to riots that were taking place in 1983 in Sri Lanka. So we are getting a letter from a notarized justice of peace verifying my mother is one of the people who lost everything during the riots. 

-I am also looking into contacting the congressman in our area.

-We are also trying to get some advice from an immigration lawyer either in the US or Sri Lanka. The lawyer's appointment is next week in the US.

 

I'm just noting all this here for anyone who might face the same situation in the future. I will keep this thread updated on the progress.

 

[Thine24 0]

On 6/12/2024 at 12:04 PM, senthamarai said:

Hello, I'm sponsoring my parents for their green cards. They went to the interview at the US embassy in our home country (Sri Lanka) yesterday. Dad got approved but mom's has a request for a document. This is for a police report. She worked in Bahrain about 42 years ago for about 12 months. She doesn't have any documents related to that stay any more. No old passports, or any ID she might have had in Bahrain. It all got destroyed in a fire. When I tried to obtain a police report from Bahrain they informed me that they will not be able to do so without an ID she might have used there all those years ago. The person I chat with wasn't even sure if they had the same ID system all those years ago. So I mentioned this when submitting docs to NVC and we got DQ'd. We were able to get police report for other places she lived. At the embassy though they have sent her back with a request for a police report. She had tried to explain but they shut her down with 'Nope we need a report'. We don't even have a Bahrain embassy in Sri Lanka. What do we do in this situation? I'm sure people have gone through the same situation.

Hi are u able to get one? 

[senthamarai 2]

Hello, So the update - We are still waiting after submitting some documents for 221g on July 8th. It's August 29th now. 

 

- The foreign ministry of SL did try their best to help us. I have to applaud their efficiency in this. They contacted the Bahrain officials and asked them what could be done. The issue was the Bahraini officials took more than 2 months to respond and say nothing could be done without my mother's documents. The SL ministry typed up a nice official letter explaining that the Bahraini officials don't offer police report without the relevant documents. This document is good but it arrived too late. So we have not submitted this to the embassy. 

- After advice from 3 different lawyers, we made an affidavit explaining the situation and that we couldn't provide a police report from Bahrain. We also got another affidavit from a justice of peace in SL who knew about my mother's situation during the riots as he had personal knowledge. We wrote a longer explanation letter as well. We submitted only these 3 documents to the embassy on July 8th (about 1 month after the interview). 

- We didn't have the letter from the SL foreign ministry then (on July 8th). After receiving the letter, we are unsure if now submitting this as a document will prolong the process even more. Plus the letter basically states the same thing we have in the affidavit, that no police report can be given from Bahrain without relevant docs. I might create a ticket and ask them if we should submit this and at this point, we've got nothing to lose. 

- I have asked for an update from the embassy and they said they are waiting for certain clearance. They are not able to tell us when it will be done. 

 

We are very anxious. I really really hope my father wouldn't have to travel alone without my mother