Yet another (Canadian)Police Clearance Question

tarantula

Registered Users (C)
Sorry, folks, I just don't want to make a mistake. Here's my situation. My spouse and I are travelling this week to Canada and we were hoping to apply for my spouse's PCC over there. She is a student in the US on F1 and lived in Canada for 7 months. We are both Canadian PRs.
I perused the link below and as per USCIS/NVC, she requires one only if she lived there for 12 months. I have read many posts on this forum where people have said that if you lived more than 6 months in another country, a PCC from that country is required.
Going by what the website mentions, she does not need one. Is that correct?

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1307.html#pc

Here is the relevant text:

Police certificates
Police certificates are required for each visa applicant aged 16 years or older. The table below shows how many police certificates are required based on where each applicant lives and has lived previously. Present and former residents of the United States should NOT obtain any police certificates covering their residence in the U.S.

IF the applicant is living in their country of nationality at their current residence for more than 6 months
AND is 16 years old or older
THEN the applicant needs a police certificate from the police authorities of that locality.

IF the applicant lived in a different part of their country of nationality for more than 6 months
AND was 16 years or older at that time
THEN the applicant needs a police certificate from the police authorities of that locality.

IF the applicant lived in a different country for more than 12 months
AND was 16 years or older at that time
THEN the applicant needs a police certificate from the police authorities of that locality.

IF the applicant was arrested for any reason, regardless of how long they lived there
AND was any age at that time
THEN the applicant needs a police certificate from the police authorities of that locality.

The police certificate must:

* Cover the entire period of the applicant’s residence in that area, and

* State what the appropriate police authorities records show concerning each applicant, including all arrests, the reason for the arrest(s), and the disposition of each case of which there is a record.

Note : Police certificates from certain countries are unavailable. More specific information is available from NVC or the nearest United States immigrant visa processing post.

Appreciate your replies.
 
tarantula said:
Can someone please comment on this? Thanks in advance.


Most Consulates state the same 12 month rule. However, to be on safe side getting a PCC is better, if it is not a huge burden. Also, email and check with the Consualte and take a print out of their reply for interview.

If your interview is in Montreal, a PCC from RCMP is highly reccomended.
 
help in getting PCC

I'm trying to get a PCC from the RCMP but I'm a little unsure of what is needed to apply for it abroad. The application lists that a set of fingerprints are needed. How does one get one when they're out of the country? Also, what's the approximate processing time to get the reports?
Thanks.
 
to maybesomeday

HI--

You can go through fingerprinting (using a US form for non-criminal purposes) at a local police station (as per RCMP website). However, I had trouble finding a police station that would do this for a Canadian criminal record. We ended up travelling to an RCMP outpost. If you choose this route, I would recommend calling the outpost ahead of time to schedule an appointment. It takes about 5-6 months for RCMP in Ottawa to process these requests. In our case, we waited 4 months. It all depends on the backlog.
 
dot70 said:
HI--

You can go through fingerprinting (using a US form for non-criminal purposes) at a local police station (as per RCMP website). However, I had trouble finding a police station that would do this for a Canadian criminal record. We ended up travelling to an RCMP outpost. If you choose this route, I would recommend calling the outpost ahead of time to schedule an appointment. It takes about 5-6 months for RCMP in Ottawa to process these requests. In our case, we waited 4 months. It all depends on the backlog.
dot70,

Thanks. I went to our local police station and got them to do the fingerprints. They do it twice a week for $10 a set. The only thing that was missing was the name and address of location performing the fingerprints. I just attached a business card the station had so I hope that is sufficient. It still had the signature of the person performing the prints.
4-5 months probably won't help my situation but I sent the application out anyways. I called my hometown RCMP and they said they could do a local records check for me. The only caveat was that I had to be there to do it which would mean it would have to wait until we go back home.

Has anyone done this "local detachment" method? Is this the same as the Ottawa method?
 
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