Police Certificate - FBI (USA)

[Adrianna19]

Hello,

I'm a new forum member but I've certainly read through many helpful postings here.

My first question is in trying to get clarity on the police certificate. I'm staying with my partner in Vancouver and trying to get the fingerprints done locally....I do not wish to cross the border again at this moment.

Is there a best method for getting the prints done?

I understand digital fingerprints or livescan might not be transmitted cross-border. Does that mean I need to do ink and paper prints? Or can I get digital ones and have them transferred to paper? I assume that any prints have to be captured on the fbi fd -258 form.

Finally if anyone has successfully obtained prints from a local shop or business and had them accepted by the fbi then please share where you went as I seem to ready many horror stories on here of prints getting rejected repeatedly resulting in painful delays in the immigration process.

Thank you!

 

[edwardh12]

Hello,

You have a few options available to you:

Obtain a set of ink fingerprints on an FD258 form, and mail that along with the required form and payment to the FBI in Clarksburg, West Virginia. You can have the ink prints done at any fingerprinting agency in Vancouver, but make sure to confirm beforehand that they have the FD258 form on hand. If not, you will need to print out the FD258 form and bring it with you. The FBI states on their website the processing time for these requests is currently 12-14 weeks, but it's more like 4-5 months, so this option isn't ideal.

There are also certain vendors the FBI has approved to receive these requests. These vendors are typically much faster than the FBI itself (they take weeks). The catch with most of these companies is you would need to be an American citizen/permanent resident and have a mailing address somewhere in the States where the FBI background check can be forwarded to once completed.

Lastly, there are fingerprinting agencies in Vancouver that perform the livescan, and they do get transmitted cross-border, hassle free. You won't need to have ink fingerprints done in this case. In my experience, Global Fingerprinting on Granville is a good place to go for this sort of thing.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ponga]

Lastly, there are fingerprinting agencies in Vancouver that perform the livescan, and they do get transmitted cross-border, hassle free. You won't need to have ink fingerprints done in this case. In my experience, Global Fingerprinting on Granville is a good place to go for this sort of thing.

Hope this helps.

The FBI will not accept prints sent electronically. Digital prints cannot be sent across an international, per FBI's regulations.

If the OP is a U.S. citizen, or Green Card holder, using an approved Channeler is the fastest way to get the IHSR letter. As you mentioned, it can only be mailed to a U.S. address, but can then be forwarded to the address in Vancouver.

To the OP: I strongly suggest having two complete sets of prints taken (which means using two FD-258 cards), just in case that are issues with the first set. Make sure to inform the Channeler (or FBI, if ordering directly from them) that the second set is to be used only if needed; you are not requesting two letters.

 

[fishferbrains]

Hello,

You have a few options available to you:

Lastly, there are fingerprinting agencies in Vancouver that perform the livescan, and they do get transmitted cross-border, hassle free. You won't need to have ink fingerprints done in this case. In my experience, Global Fingerprinting on Granville is a good place to go for this sort of thing.

Hope this helps.

I wanted to chime in here that quick turn-around for American residents is available here in Vancouver through Global Fingerprinting on Grandville. After calling around to a number of locations including in Ottawa and Toronto, Global Fingerprinting was able to fingerprint me and transmit them to an officially approved FBI channeler (trp associates) and got me an electronic report for upload in just a few hours.

It was also cheaper ($150) by a long amount from the others I spoke to ($300-500). Thanks for the suggestion!!!

 

[canforensics]

Hello,
You can contact Canadian Forensics Inc - RCMP accredited fingerprinting agency in Toronto for all your fingerprinting needs. They are forensic professionals providing digital as well as ink & roll fingerprinting services for RCMP Criminal Record Checks and FBI Fingerprints on FBI FD-258 Card for Identity History Summary Checks (Police Clearance Certificate) from the FBI, USA.

Please Note that FBI does not accept fingerprints electronically, you must submit your fingerprints on FBI FD-258 Card for Identity History Summary Checks