Send everything except FBI certificate - Send that later?

[can_80_n]

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with sending their application in to CIC-M with everything EXCEPT FBI clearance certificate? We are applying outland via Buffalo. We have the State certificates but still waiting on FBI. (We had to redo all the clearances since they expired after USPS lost the FBI certificate). Anyways...we're itching to send out our application to get the ball rolling and I'm wondering if this is a good idea without the FBI certificate. We would include a letter stating that we have already applied for it but I'm wondering if CIC-M would flat out return our application rather than just ask us to send the FBI certificate later?

Has anyone done this? Would it be safer to wait for FBI certificate? We were all set to go back in November and this FBI business is holding us up! We're anxious to get started! 

Thanks!

[rnbacchus]

My husband applied through Buffalo, and we sent the application without having the FBI certificate because the certificate we did receive stated he was born in the Netherlands rather than Nebraska.  So we put in a request for a corrected FBI certificate, and sent off the application explaining why the certificate was not included and that we would send it at a later date. 

He got his passport request last week, so I guess it wasn't the end of the world that we didn't include it with the application.

[bonacker]

Hmmm. I dunno.

The outland directions (region-specific for USA/Buffalo) state clearly that the application will be returned to you if it's incomplete. And they also state clearly that one of the required documents for it to be considered complete is the FBI certificate. So, if it were me, I would wait for the FBI certificate before sending it in; they can't process it without it, after all, so you aren't actually losing any time, right??

Note: The country-specific instructions for US citizens -- if that's what you are? -- don't actually currently require state police certificates. Right now, the region-specific instructions I was given, for my outland/Buffalo application, just said that state police certificates "MAY" be requested later. I don't know when the instructions changed -- I gather they used to request all state police certs., too? -- but someone said it changed in October. Can't vouch for that. (Anyway I definitely wouldn't delay applying if you don't have state police certificates. Hope this didn't delay you already?)

[can_80_n]

Thank you, rnbacchus and bonacker. We already have the State certificates and I'm surprised to hear we actually don't need those now. Oh well...we'll send them anyways just in case. We're leaning towards risking it and sending without FBI with a letter explaining that it will follow.

I'll keep everyone posted.

[bonacker]

can_80-N: yeah, i do think lots of people are still sending the state certificates with their application, to be on the safe side. (especially since the updated instructions do, anyway, say they might be asked for later, anyway, and if you have 'em now, send 'em now, right?) anyway, i didn't ask for them from my state police because i didn't know they used to be required right off the bat. so i'm just waiting to see if they're requested. i hope not.

[diddagirl]

Thank you, rnbacchus and bonacker. We already have the State certificates and I'm surprised to hear we actually don't need those now. Oh well...we'll send them anyways just in case. We're leaning towards risking it and sending without FBI with a letter explaining that it will follow.

I'll keep everyone posted.

I would reccomend waiting until you get the FBI cert back, and send the entire completed application. Without it, they will either send the entire application back, or simply stop processing it without the FBI...so I dont see how you would really be gaining time by sending the application prematurely.

[madzibaba]

You can send whatever ypu have at the moment and post the FBI clearence once you get it , I did the same thing and it worked well for me , the key is communication with the CIC state exaclty the reason why its not included and the estimated date you will send it.....

[can_80_n]

Thanks everyone for your input!

We have decided to send our application in without the FBI certificate but with the State ones as those will expire soon. We are attaching a letter as to why we did not include it yet. Nervous but glad to finally get SOMETHING going.

Begin rant about FBI: *&^%%&*&^! @ # @ !  It's not very reassuring when you call them and ask where your application is in the queue and they respond "We don't track that kind of thing..."  By the way, my husband called again on Friday and they haven't started processing any of the requests received in January yet...Not very encouraging.
What's really annoying is that back in October we sent in our first request. According to the FBI office, they sent the certificate on Nov 9th but WE NEVER RECEIVED IT. It appears that this time things aren't moving as quickly...grrrrr.
End rant

[RobsLuv]

Did you write "Canadian Immigration" and put a due date on the outside of the mailing envelope?  If you did, you can be assured that they pulled your mailing out for expedited processing and you'll receive your results within a month.  But, like the person you called told you, they don't track that type of thing so they can't tell you where your request is.  

If you didn't designate that you wanted expedited processing, consider sending a new request following the above procedure.  Otherwise you could wait up to 4 months to get your clearance back.

[can_80_n]

Hi RobsLuv,

Yes, we did indicate "Canadian Immigration" and the due date on the outside, just like we did the first time around last October. We sent this second request on January 13th. I forgot to mention that a couple of weeks ago, my husband spoke to a supervisor at the FBI office. She mentioned that at the moment they are not expediting any requests due to a higher than usual workload  . So that's another reason we decided to just send our app with the State certificates (since they expire soon!) and include a letter with the money orders showing we have 2 requests in to the FBI. We feel so helpless. Not much else we can do at this point except wait and hope for the best.