I wanted to share my experience of getting fingerprinting done for the FBI PCC from the State CID (Criminal Investigation Department) office in Pune, India.
Not many know of this service provided by the CID office and how easy and economical it is. I can't thank the team of Officers in the Fingerprinting department enough for being prompt and approachable and highly recommend them.
So here's how you can get your finger prints taken:
- Download the FBI form FD 258 from their website
- Print them on a good quality thick paper. I printed it on Business Card quality paper (any good stationery store should have this).
Make sure to print on business card quality paper in A4 size with MATTE finish. Matte finish is particularly important as a gloss finish would smudge your finger prints and increase the chances of rejection. Also get multiple copies of forms on the above-mentioned paper before you go to the CID office. (We took 6 forms each for both my wife and I.)
- Fill up the forms beforehand. (The Fingerprint officers will check the filled up fields and you don't want to fill up the forms with ink all over your palms.)
- Call up the CID office and confirm their timings before you go.
- Carry your Aadhar card, Pan Card, Electricity/ Telephone Bills and photocopies of all these documents alongwith your passport size Photos.
- Go to the new CID office (Address is the new Crime Branch department, right next to Modern Law College, Pashan road, Chavan nagar, Pashan, Pune, 411007)
- Fill up the form given by them and provide the supporting documents mentioned above and pay the fees.
Fees are Rs 500/- for 2 copies of finger prints. Also note that 1 copy is retained by them for their records. I paid Rs 1000/- for 4 sets out of which 1 was retained by them. So I had 3 sets that I sent to FBI.
- Follow the Fingerprint Officer's directions to get your fingerprints on the form. The first one may not come out clear and you will be asked to keep trying on multiple forms. (So ensure that you carry plenty spare forms). The fingerprints are taken by specialists who are in turn supervised by the Fingerprint Officer. Once the specialist has taken your finger prints, the Officer will help you in identifying which ones have come out the best and will also arrange them in correct order. I sent mine in the same order to the FBI, that is, the form with best fingerprints on the top and the ones with Lesser quality on the bottom. It is advisable to send multiple finger print cards/forms to FBI in the same package so that you don't have to resend another set again after rejection and you have your PCC before the deadline. (Pls note that the FBI timelines have changed and my PCC took 14 weeks).
- Ensure that your final forms with fingerprints are signed and stamped by the Fingerprint Officer.
The entire team of fingerprint department at the CID office are highly experienced and don't rush you at all. Please note that this is a time consuming process and could take you more than an hour, provided your fingerprints are naturally clear. My wife has natural ridges on her fingers that made it very difficult to get clear prints and we spent a little over 3 hrs to get both our fingerprints. But the Officers ensured that she still got the best prints and fortunately her prints (3 sets of fingerprintswere sent) were accepted by the FBI.
I hope that this is helpful to all looking for Fingerprint service in Pune (am sure the CID offices in other cities also provide this service) and suggest that you try CID out instead of paying exhorbitant fees to private agents.
