Has anybody applied for an FBI police check lately?

[wise_rita]

By that I mean an "identity history summary" and by "lately" I mean fricking months ago.

They charged my (American) debit card on September 17th, but no word since.  Kindly note I sent it domestically a month prior to that.

Their website informs me they've upgraded their IT system which has screwed everything up, conveniently after I sent in our fingerprints, when their website listed an estimated wait of 30 calendar days.

Just looking for commiseration because I'm crawling out of my skin waiting for it.  My whole life is on hold waiting for that damn thing.  

[potatopie]

I got mine a few months ago (July) and we were convinced my mom had thrown it out with the junk mail because it took so long to arrive. I even called and they said they had sent it out. No idea why it took like 3 weeks to arrive at my parents' house.

[orriskitten]

Yep. I was in the same boat as you. I got mine after 14 weeks. Maybe 15 weeks? I caved at 12 weeks and paid $65 to a private company which got it to me within a week.

[MauMau]

Wow. They got inefficient in the last years. I did mine in 2011 and it was done in way under a month. Sorry. Hope it comes back to you soon!

[loira]

Ugh, eff this! We are thinking of moving back to Canada and applying for residency for H. It requires a background check from every country he's lived in since he was 18, but for some reason Canadian immigration demands an FBI check from the US instead of a normal police check. I really was wondering if the 13-14 weeks they list on the website for this was true and hoping it wasn't. What a pain! Even his police check from Korea won't take that long.

I hope it comes back soon wise_rita!

[wise_rita]

Dec 1, 2014 11:08:41 GMT -5 orriskitten said:

Yep. I was in the same boat as you. I got mine after 14 weeks. Maybe 15 weeks? I caved at 12 weeks and paid $65 to a private company which got it to me within a week.

When did you send it in the first time?

What does this private company entail? Did you have to redo your prints and send them in again?

[potatopie]

I'm sorry. Now I remember that I used a private company as well and it was the Apostille that I was waiting 3 weeks for. Yeah, the private companies do it within 24 hours. I think I paid $50. It differs state by state but there was some link on the FBI website that talked about private companies. Sorry can't find it right now....will try and search later, if I can. They do the prints digitally and email you the results.

[orriskitten]

Dec 2, 2014 1:09:42 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Dec 1, 2014 11:08:41 GMT -5 orriskitten said:

Yep. I was in the same boat as you. I got mine after 14 weeks. Maybe 15 weeks? I caved at 12 weeks and paid $65 to a private company which got it to me within a week.

When did you send it in the first time?

What does this private company entail? Did you have to redo your prints and send them in again?

I think I sent it in August. Card got charged a month later, then it was "processing" forever.

I used a company from the FBI website. They list private places that do it. I did have to get my prints again so that was a pain, but it got me my background check so quickly. The downside with this company is that they couldn't send the hard copy internationally so if you go this route, call the company to ask. I had it mailed to my dad in the states and then he sent it along to iceland.

Eta: you can also get online copies or access to a portal with your results, but I opted for the official piece of paper... Which looked like I could have made myself.

[wise_rita]

Thanks for the information, ladies.

Grr, I wish I had asked this before I sent everything in. I didn't realize a third party company actually gets shit done. I just assumed it was to help clueless people through the process, not expedite the results.

Tomorrow will be 11 weeks since my card was charged, so I feel like I'm too invested now to change course.

[orriskitten]

Dec 2, 2014 6:56:06 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Thanks for the information, ladies.

Grr, I wish I had asked this before I sent everything in. I didn't realize a third party company actually gets shit done. I just assumed it was to help clueless people through the process, not expedite the results.

Tomorrow will be 11 weeks since my card was charged, so I feel like I'm too invested now to change course.

Yep. I went through all those feelings lol. It was holding my potentially getting a drivers license before my US one expired, so I bit the bullet and paid twice. Now I have a backup if I ever need the letter again since the FBI one did get here eventually.

Seriously, though, FBI getting THAT much slower for an IT system change? That's sad.

[wise_rita]

Update:

I received both my and my SO's FBI checks. They were both dated November 19th, and arrived to me in Australia 3 weeks later (a day apart).

And now the real wait can begin!

[GilliC]

Random question(s) for you wise_rita ...

Were you and your SO registered as samboer in Norway? Did that help at all in terms of getting visas when you moved? Howe does that all work?

Context... My XH is transferring to the US next year (with a green card and a Norwegian passport) and is planning to bring his GF along. They may be samboer, but I don't think they have plans to go to the Tinghuset and get married, so I'm wondering how she's going to get a visa.

[irish]

wise_rita
Just tagging you for GilliC

[GilliC]

Dec 12, 2014 9:46:54 GMT -5 irish said:

wise_rita
Just tagging you for GilliC

Damn that underscore! I'm always making that mistake!

[wise_rita]

Dec 11, 2014 10:59:27 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Random question(s) for you wise_rita ...

Were you and your SO registered as samboer in Norway? Did that help at all in terms of getting visas when you moved? Howe does that all work?

Context... My XH is transferring to the US next year (with a green card and a Norwegian passport) and is planning to bring his GF along. They may be samboer, but I don't think they have plans to go to the Tinghuset and get married, so I'm wondering how she's going to get a visa.

Your XH has a Norwegian passport?  Lucky dude!  I take it this means he gave up his Indian passport (or if he's lucky, India doesn't allow him to renounce so he got it anyway).  I am so cross at Norway for their archaic rules on that (grrrrrr).

USA doesn't recognize samboer, so their samboerskap in Norway will mean beans when it comes to getting her into the USA.  Yes we were registered as such in Norway, but that's a decision the Norwegian immigration authorities made based on our time living together in the USA (and later Australia also based on our time living together in Norway).

I obviously don't know much about green card holders, and have never tried to get my norsk samboer into America, but I do know that USA only recognizes a marriage certificate.

I, too, wonder how she's going to get a visa!  

[MauMau]

Dec 12, 2014 11:29:50 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Dec 12, 2014 9:46:54 GMT -5 irish said:

wise_rita
Just tagging you for GilliC

Damn that underscore! I'm always making that mistake!

I don't see how she is going to get one either. He can't sponsor her green card while on a green card. So unless she is going to go to school? Or get a long term visitors visa this will be very interesting to see pan out for them.

[GilliC]

wise_rita, Yes he's giving up his Indian passport. I think he decided that Norway was a better citizenship to have long-term and it's so much easier to travel.

We're all curious what's going yo happen with her. I'm not sure he's really aware of how unlikely it is that she'll be able to go without getting married. Frankly, my money's on them getting married quietly when he finds out it's the only way. After all, SO and I have discussed that immigration laws are really the only reason we'd even consider it.i keep telling him we should get married so that he gets double his home-travel allowance, but he doesn't think that's a good enough reason.

[wise_rita]

Dec 13, 2014 7:31:37 GMT -5 GilliC said:

wise_rita, Yes he's giving up his Indian passport. I think he decided that Norway was a better citizenship to have long-term and it's so much easier to travel.

He ain't wrong there!

But yeah, as is there is no way she's getting into the USA.