buffalo applicant -- re: fingerprinting

[seren8]

Hi,
We have sent in our application in March. Our first part of our application has already been approved in ontario and transferred to buffalo. We have sent in the one page FBI letter stating there is no criminal record along with our application. Today we received an email from their office saying:
     A fingerprint check is required for you, please follow the instructions below and send to the Canadian    Consulate in Buffalo when you receive the assessed prints.
     The Buffalo RPC does not accept RCMP police certificates based on a name check. The RCMP record check that we require must be based on a FINGERPRINT check.
     IMPORTANT: ENSURE THAT YOUR IMMIGRATION FILE NUMBER AND OUR OFFICE ADDRESS APPEARS ON YOUR FINGERPRINT FORM.

Here are my questions:
1. When we sent in our fingerprinting letter from FBI, are we supposed to sent in the fingerprints that we have done at our local police station as well?
2. If so, do we need to only get that done and mail it to Buffalo office? or do we have to do the FBI clearance again? (i.e. they lost our fingerprint letter from FBI)
3. Or do we have to submit our fingerprinting through RCMP in Canada as well?
4. I have already forgotten, but can we have our immigration file number and the buffalo address appears on the fingerprint form done at our local police station?
5. How much processing time will be affected, usually?

Thank you so much for all your input and advice.

Seren8





 

[CharlieD10]

I might be wrong (and if so, someone please correct me) but I don't believe they are asking for you to re-do the FBI check.  What they seem to be asking for is an RCMP check of your fingerprints.  This would mean you submit your fingerprints to whatever arm of RCMP is responsible for fingerprint checks (ensuring that your file # and their address are noted on the form) and get a record back from them, just like you did for the FBI record check.

[awor]

The FBI doesn't send prints back, so the paper you got is supposed to suffice. If they lost your record (which it kind of sounds like), you'll have to get new prints and request a new FBI record. You can try emailing Buffalo and mention you sent it with the application, maybe the officer overlooked it. Or, they need your Canadian check, if you are/where in Canada over 6 months.

If you order a new one, on the outside of the envelope to the FBI, make a note: record request for immigration/due in 2 weeks
And on the form, under reason for request, write in something like: for Canadian Immigration, their office lost my previously obtained background check and I need a new one in 2 weeks.

[Maple3]

Seren8 .. When you sent your  letter you should have also enclosed your fingerprints that you had done. They are  looking for the fingerprints and if you didnt get them done at the State Police you will need to go back and have it done and you send it to FBI along with your letter. Then you have to wait to get it back from the FBI and then send it in.  Hope this helps.

[imp]

The letter I got from the FBI states that they are no longer returning fingerprint cards so it doesn't make sense that they want the fingerprints too.  It looks to me like they want you to have an RCMP check as well.

[Rinnerz]

The letter the OP quoted clearly states they want an RCMP record check based on a fingerprint check. This has NOTHING to do with an FBI clearance. What likely happened was the applicant was in Canada at some point long enough to need an RCMP check, and when Buffalo ran an RCMP name check, they came up with a hit (happens more when you have a common name). Now they need the fingerprint check from the RCMP to narrow things down.

The OP will need to get the fingerprinting done and submitted to RCMP for a fingerprint-based police check, and then send that on to Buffalo.

If you are in Canada and can get your fingerprints submitted electronically to the RCMP, they say processing can take as little as 2-3 business days. If the fingerprints have to be submitted in ink, it can take as much as 12 weeks. See RCMP's website: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/fing-empr2-eng.htm

[seren8]

Thank you all for your response.
We still don't understand why we need to send in an RCMP fingerprint check. My husband, whom I am sponsoring has never been to Canada for more than 2 weeks, mainly just to visit me or perhaps some family events that we have to go to. We met in the States, got married, and even had a kid in the States; we simply decided to move back there now so that we can be closer to our family
Now that I recall, we have submitted the fingerprints done at the local police and sent it off to the FBI for the police certificate. They never returned the fingerprints to us and only included a one-page letter, stating there is no criminal record. If indeed, they require an RCMP check, are there other reasons why they would want that? Is that a common thing for an out land applicant?
Thank you so much again for all your input.
Seren8