IEC Police Certs

tlambe

I'm planning on applying for the IEC when it opens in January. I've sent off for my Garda cert and, as I lived for a year in New York previously, my FBI clearance as well.

But I haven't been able to find out if I'll also need a police certificate for New York State.

The only information I could find was this:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/north-america/united-states.asp

...which just says that "State certificates may also be requested".

Does anyone know whether State certs were needed for New York previously? I know the application hasn't opened yet so it's not possible to say for certain but does anyone maybe with a similar experience know if they were necessary before?

Thanks a lot!

MartyLK

hi sorry to bother you.

just wondering how you got on with the FBI record process. did you do the whole fingerprint business? if so, did you just have them done in your local garda station and have you any tips on filling out the fingerprint card & FBI application form.

I'm ragin I overlooked this. I have a Pennsylvania state clearance that I assumed would be fine as I've not lived in States since 2002 but apparently not!!

any info would be great, cheers

Marty

armadillo86

MartyLK wrote: »

hi sorry to bother you.

just wondering how you got on with the FBI record process. did you do the whole fingerprint business? if so, did you just have them done in your local garda station and have you any tips on filling out the fingerprint card & FBI application form.

I'm ragin I overlooked this. I have a Pennsylvania state clearance that I assumed would be fine as I've not lived in States since 2002 but apparently not!!

any info would be great, cheers

Marty

Hi Marty,

I got a police certificate from the FBI recently. I followed the steps on this page: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks/submitting-an-identification-record-request-to-the-fbi

It's all very straighforward. I printed out the application information form and fingerprint cards and brought them to my local garda station. The guard that did my fingerprints said that he'd prefer to use an Irish fingerprint card than the one that I'd printed off from the FBI website, which worked fine.

I sent my fingerprints, application information form and credit card payment form by registered post to the address provided on the above link. To give you an idea of timelines, I mailed my forms on 30 October 2012, my credit card was charged $18 on 12 December 2012 and I received my police clearance back in the post on 20 December 2012. So all in all it took around 7 weeks to get it sorted.

Hope this helps!

MartyLK

Aw thanks a million, this sounds a bit less stressful!

Yeah that's the link I had been going through and seems straightforward but I suppose never sure of something that I'd never done before.

Can I just ask how much your local station charged you??
Also, with the Garda's own fingerprint forms do you still fill in the top portion of the card from the FBI site??
Lastly, have you any tips on certain fileds of any of the forms that I should take care with?? The 'ORI' number seems to an issue?

Many thanks again, any help is appreciated and hopefully I can repay you with a drink in a Toronto bar!!(If that's where your headed!!)



Marty

armadillo86

MartyLK wrote: »

Aw thanks a million, this sounds a bit less stressful!

Yeah that's the link I had been going through and seems straightforward but I suppose never sure of something that I'd never done before.

Can I just ask how much your local station charged you??
Also, with the Garda's own fingerprint forms do you still fill in the top portion of the card from the FBI site??
Lastly, have you any tips on certain fileds of any of the forms that I should take care with?? The 'ORI' number seems to an issue?

Many thanks again, any help is appreciated and hopefully I can repay you with a drink in a Toronto bar!!(If that's where your headed!!)



Marty

Yeah I still sent the FBI fingerprint card that I'd filled in along with the Irish card and the other forms. My local station gave me the run around for a few weeks, I kept going in and they'd fob me off and tell me to come in another day because there was nobody available to do my fingerprints, so in the end I think they felt bad because they didn't charge me for them! AFAIK they cost around €60 usually. Probably the best thing you could do is ring them up and ask them what day would be best for you to go in to get them done, and you could ask them the price over the phone to confirm.

This page should help you with filling out the form: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/103665.pdf
I'm fairly sure I left the ORI space blank. Other than that, just double check that your personal details, especially your credit card number and expiry date are written down correctly and you're good to go!

MartyLK

Sounds good cheers.

So to clarify - you just printed the application form, fingerprint card and credit card form from the FBI site off on normal A4 printing paper?

Then your Garda station did your prints on a card of their own but you still filled the personal info on the FBI card. Did you have the Garda stamp or sign any of the forms to verify who did your prints?

Cheers again, sorry to annoy you but want to get this done hopefully by end of week!!

Marty

armadillo86

MartyLK wrote: »

Sounds good cheers.

So to clarify - you just printed the application form, fingerprint card and credit card form from the FBI site off on normal A4 printing paper?

Then your Garda station did your prints on a card of their own but you still filled the personal info on the FBI card. Did you have the Garda stamp or sign any of the forms to verify who did your prints?

Cheers again, sorry to annoy you but want to get this done hopefully by end of week!!

Marty

Yeah I printed them off in a local library on normal A4 paper. I think the guard signed the Irish fingerprint card and may have put an official stamp on it but can't really remember. It's all really straightforward once you track down an officer that will do it for you. The messiest part is the ink itself, they still use the ink that's rolled out on a block of glass and you have to stick your hand to the glass and then transfer your prints to the fingerprint card that way... Was pretty cool, doubt it'd be as cool if they were being taken because I'd committed a crime though!

You're not annoying me at all, I had exactly the same thoughts and concerns before getting it all sorted... We gotta stick together and share knowledge in our quest to get out of this country haha!

tlambe

MartyLK wrote: »

hi sorry to bother you.

just wondering how you got on with the FBI record process. did you do the whole fingerprint business? if so, did you just have them done in your local garda station and have you any tips on filling out the fingerprint card & FBI application form.

I'm ragin I overlooked this. I have a Pennsylvania state clearance that I assumed would be fine as I've not lived in States since 2002 but apparently not!!

any info would be great, cheers

Marty

My experience was pretty similar to Karbolt's. I got my fingerprints taken at my local station on the 2nd of December - they charged me €60. They did use the original FBI fingerprint form in my case though (the form that you can print off the website).

I put the form in the post the next day and, while I can't remember what day I received the certificate, it's dated the 6th of January; so I assume I got it shortly after that.

As for filling out the form - with some of the fairly mysterious sections like "MNU", "FBI" or "OCA", I think I either left these blank or just wrote "N/A".

MartyLK

tlambe wrote: »

My experience was pretty similar to Karbolt's. I got my fingerprints taken at my local station on the 2nd of December - they charged me €60. They did use the original FBI fingerprint form in my case though (the form that you can print off the website).

I put the form in the post the next day and, while I can't remember what day I received the certificate, it's dated the 6th of January; so I assume I got it shortly after that.

As for filling out the form - with some of the fairly mysterious sections like "MNU", "FBI" or "OCA", I think I either left these blank or just wrote "N/A".

Great stuff, thanks.

Hope mine goes as smoothly now!

MartyLK

Hi folks, only me again.

Finally got my prints done today(60 quid, broke my heart!!) & about to send them registered post and wanted to triple check a couple of things.

Employer field: Did u leave empty, the link above mentions to write the name and address of the place you got the prints done while another thing I've read says write the name of potential employer which in our case doesn't apply! Wondering what ye did? Maybe name and address of Garda station??

Just below that field is 'Reason fingerprinted' - again leave blank? the above link again mentions some sort of official code.

Also the link states the person taking the prints should seal the envelope and place an official stamp on that seal. Is this needed??

And just as a matter of interest did you look at any of the prints after you got home and think 'oh that ones a bit patchy or a bit light', if so did u send them anyway and it didn't affect it.

I'm goin overboard here but really want to cover all bases as the next 7/8 weeks waiting will kill me as it is never mind sending a dodgy fingerprint card!!!

Cheers again,

Marty

armadillo86

MartyLK wrote: »

Hi folks, only me again.

Finally got my prints done today(60 quid, broke my heart!!) & about to send them registered post and wanted to triple check a couple of things.

Employer field: Did u leave empty, the link above mentions to write the name and address of the place you got the prints done while another thing I've read says write the name of potential employer which in our case doesn't apply! Wondering what ye did? Maybe name and address of Garda station??

Just below that field is 'Reason fingerprinted' - again leave blank? the above link again mentions some sort of official code.

Also the link states the person taking the prints should seal the envelope and place an official stamp on that seal. Is this needed??

And just as a matter of interest did you look at any of the prints after you got home and think 'oh that ones a bit patchy or a bit light', if so did u send them anyway and it didn't affect it.

I'm goin overboard here but really want to cover all bases as the next 7/8 weeks waiting will kill me as it is never mind sending a dodgy fingerprint card!!!

Cheers again,

Marty

Hi Marty,

I think I left the employer and address space blank. Did the garda sign your fingerprint form? You could always write the address of the station where you got em done but not sure it's necessary.

For Reason Fingerprinted, I wrote "Police Clearance for Canadian Visa Application". I didn't get a sealed envelope or official stamp, just sent the fingerprint form along with all the other forms in an ordinary A4 envelope.

Some of my prints looked a little light to me but I sent them anyway and all was good. Once the ink didn't smudge you should be grand!

green_dub_girl

Anybody know when the police certificate expires? I heard it was valid for three months. Mine expires in two days and I wonder do I need a new one? I'm already registered with Kompass and have made my payment, but I am awaiting payment validation so can't submit it yet.

Do you need to make the application within the three month mark or do you need to submit it to IEC before that time?

The waiting is killing me!

MartyLK

green_dub_girl wrote: »

Anybody know when the police certificate expires? I heard it was valid for three months. Mine expires in two days and I wonder do I need a new one? I'm already registered with Kompass and have made my payment, but I am awaiting payment validation so can't submit it yet.

Do you need to make the application within the three month mark or do you need to submit it to IEC before that time?

The waiting is killing me!

Hi, I'm sure I read somewhere it's 3 months from when you intially apply. Not sure though. Your Garda station would probably do you up another one thoough if you just explain!

MartyLK

Karbolt wrote: »

Hi Marty,

I think I left the employer and address space blank. Did the garda sign your fingerprint form? You could always write the address of the station where you got em done but not sure it's necessary.

For Reason Fingerprinted, I wrote "Police Clearance for Canadian Visa Application". I didn't get a sealed envelope or official stamp, just sent the fingerprint form along with all the other forms in an ordinary A4 envelope.

Some of my prints looked a little light to me but I sent them anyway and all was good. Once the ink didn't smudge you should be grand!

Cool, thanks.

Yeah he signed and stamped it.

Think I'll just fill the reason field with what you did and leave employer blank.

Cheers for everything.

Marty

green_dub_girl

MartyLK wrote: »

Hi, I'm sure I read somewhere it's 3 months from when you intially apply. Not sure though. Your Garda station would probably do you up another one thoough if you just explain!

Thanks Marty, I hope you're right! I thought I read somewhere that they will only issue one every 12 months-I am sick with worry! I didn't expect the application process to become the emotional roller coaster it has! Ha!

MartyLK

green_dub_girl wrote: »

Thanks Marty, I hope you're right! I thought I read somewhere that they will only issue one every 12 months-I am sick with worry! I didn't expect the application process to become the emotional roller coaster it has! Ha!

Not sure about the 12 month issueing thing, read somewhere on IEC site you can re-use the same one again if it's within 12 months.

I'm in same boat as you, if it has to be within 3 months from when we open myCIC accounts then I'll have to get a new one because I got mine dated December 13 so 3 months would leave it at March 13. But I have to send off for an FBI clearance than can can 8ish weeks so assuming I get a conditional acceptance in 2 weeks I'll have to wait a few weeks after that until I get my FBI cert which will take me past March 13th.

Simple?? :):)

Marty

Clairface

Hey, I know I'm a bit late to the party here but am in the same boat where I need FBI clearance for my Canadian visa. Just been speaking with a guy in the US Embassy about it and he said I needed to send in two sets of fingerprints and not one but I can't see that anywhere on the FBI site. It'd mean paying €120 instead of €60 for them and I was wondering if you guys just sent in one fingerprint sheet or two, and did it all go smoothly?

Thanks!

sabdullah

Anybody still active on this thread????

sabdullah

Just some clarifications. So first did you put your Dublin address to receive the background check results? For home I will put my Texas address but not sure if it's better to put my Dublin or Texas for results
Second, how did you mail it? Did you just go to the nearest post office and did regular mail for overseas? I am asking because they seem to be strict by saying prepaid priority mail nor FedEx or foreign postage coupons will not be accepted
How long did it all take? It has to go all the way to West Virginia. And which Garda station did you go to? Finally, do I have to call and make an appointment at the Garda Station for fingerprinting?

Is it faster if I request a fingerprint card from my state (Maryland). I can have my sister priority mail it and do the fingerprinting at any Garda Station and priority mail it back to my sister. Then she can priority mail it to the Maryland office and this way I can get the results quicker than through the FBI?? What do you guys think?

BTW I am doing this for Trinity College Dublin Academic Registrar, and they accept a state background.