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Help on the police background check

 
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tideout



Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:14 pm    Post subject: Help on the police background check Reply with quote

I started working for one of the bigger language mills in HCM recently. I have another pending job in about 2 months at a place I hope is a step up.

The problem I have is in getting a police background check from the US. No criminal history but the issue is that I seem to have no competent or functioning connections there at this point.

My understanding is that the government would accept a local, non-print background check but getting a form mailed w/ a money order and returned to me is the issue. I also understand they sometimes want to see someone notarized the document?

I've even considered hiring an attorney or paralegal to help with paperwork in a timely way......

So much for backup from friends or family.

Thanks for any ideas out there on ways to get this to work.
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JMPM321



Joined: 15 Apr 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 8:59 pm    Post subject: Background check process Reply with quote

You can do either a state record check or fbi check but either one will have to be authenticated at state level. You can send the initial request for a criminal record check with forwarding envelopes included. Check all the fees and write all the necessary checks/money orders you will need and include those in the packet. It might help to leave a list of instructions so each agency will know where to forward the requests. So yeah, you dont really need anyone to do anything special. Just add preaddressed forwarding envelopes. Good luck
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tideout



Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:07 am    Post subject: Re: Background check process Reply with quote

JMPM321 wrote:
You can do either a state record check or fbi check but either one will have to be authenticated at state level. You can send the initial request for a criminal record check with forwarding envelopes included. Check all the fees and write all the necessary checks/money orders you will need and include those in the packet. It might help to leave a list of instructions so each agency will know where to forward the requests. So yeah, you dont really need anyone to do anything special. Just add preaddressed forwarding envelopes. Good luck


Thanks for responding. Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that in my experience. For example, the State where my sister is from seems to require a walk-in fingerprint job for any check. The counties and towns often don't do them now that the State runs the database. Also, I'm guessing my local Vietnamese postal branch doesn't have US stamps on hand for forwarding.

Have you used some form of International Money order out of Vietnam for use in the US? I'd like to know if you've had luck with a specific M.O..

Just for the record, I also don't think States can certify Federal documents. They have to be done at the Federal level, in the case of the FBI check I've always had it done by the US State Department.

Another issue is the "certification" of the document. Frankly, the English used by the personnel person is vague on this - does it require only a notarization by a notary for immigration or does it require an apostille. They are of course different. I was lead to believe that immigration liked to see an official county, town police type of stamp on the record check - clearly easier as it's part of the document I'd think. A couple of people have said that immigration doesn't really look beyond seeing some kind of official looking governmental stamp and that a local Vietnamese notary can stamp it as the original document.
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ExpatLuke



Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 744

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You said you started working at a large mill recently. How recently. It probably still has the check you did for them. Just ask them for a copy or have them mail it to your new school.

To get a local check you need to have lived in the country for at least 6 months. I had mine done in hanoi, but it was very annoying. I had to go back several times because i was missing some papers.
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tideout



Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:19 am    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

ExpatLuke wrote:
You said you started working at a large mill recently. How recently. It probably still has the check you did for them. Just ask them for a copy or have them mail it to your new school.

To get a local check you need to have lived in the country for at least 6 months. I had mine done in hanoi, but it was very annoying. I had to go back several times because i was missing some papers.


Thanks for responding. Yeah, I was in another country working and that cbc is over 6 months. I may end up just pushing it back as far as they'll let me and then go for the local background check as you did. Can't be more expensive than a rt flight to the US after all!
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TRH



Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:55 am    Post subject: Re: Background check process Reply with quote

tideout wrote:
Also, I'm guessing my local Vietnamese postal branch doesn't have US stamps on hand for forwarding.
Probably correct on that one. Wink It will be a tough process with a helping partner on the other side but darn near impossible without one.

tideout wrote:
Have you used some form of International Money order out of Vietnam for use in the US? I'd like to know if you've had luck with a specific M.O..
I have never tried but I see a Western Union sign on a lot of banks. Of course most of their Money Orders are incoming.

tideout wrote:
Just for the record, I also don't think States can certify Federal documents. They have to be done at the Federal level, in the case of the FBI check I've always had it done by the US State Department.
That is correct. I went back and looked at my FBI check (which is now over 6 months) and it was directly certified by Clinton and re-certified by the VN Embassy without any state stamps. For the FBI check you need fingerprints but they have a downloadable form and instructions on how to do it so they must accept do it yourself prints. Here is their link: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/criminal-history-summary-checks

They have a pretty good checklist online too. I also noticed on my original application that you can have a different mail-to address. Therefore, if someone is helping you out, you can have the records check mailed to them so they can send it to US State and the VN Embassy. The FBI takes credit cards too but you will still need money orders for State and the embassy.

This is where a Viet Kieu travel agent in the US, if you know one, can be very handy. They do this kind of stuff all the time as a lot of their clientele is semi-literate. Then you can just write them one check. After the fact, I found that the asking price was the same as the total of all the postage and fees that I paid. The agent told me that they get a preferred rate from the consulate in SF and that is his margin. They save on the postage too because they are sending several documents at once.

Here is the form for requesting certification from the SF consulate (in Vietnamese of course): http://www.vietnamconsulate-sf.org/data/downloads/2013/mau_phieu_de_nghi_chung_thuc_1.pdf Have fun with that.

A realistic scenario is that this is best case a three month process. I was fingerprinted on 8 May 12 and the Embassy certified my records on 26 July 12. This was with US Express Mail on every leg. If I recall correctly, the FBI check took nearly two months. Maybe your scenario of toughing it out for 6 months is the best.
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toiyeuthitmeo



Joined: 21 May 2010
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi. The Dept of Labor (at least in HCMC) is now making it very difficult for expats to use the VN based police clearance for WPs. This is recent and personally verified policy, though as with many things here, the right bribes, connections, and the ever-changing policies of VN authorities could change this. You can get the Vietnam clearance document still, but when using it as part of the work permit process, they (Dept of Labor and other authorities) will now require the applicant provide proof that explicitly states what the person was doing, where they were living, and for whom they were working the entire time they�ve been in VN. These claims must then be officially verified and documented by the cops of each ward/city/district which you�ve lived in, and each employer along the way. Good luck doing that on your own! With these policies, you�ll find that many schools will soon just not accept the Vietnamese police clearance as part of the work permit document package. So it really is best to get this sorted from your home country.

With regards to the OP�s specifics, his US doc for police clearance must be notarized and apostilled all the way up to the Feds (US Secretary of State Office). There are online services that can handle the apostille process in the states for expats who are abroad, like www.fdeus.com/us It�s not cheap, sadly, and will require plastic.

The first document of the chain can be as simple as a "No record of arrest" statement, and getting the date "up to" as close to the present date as you can. Even a letter from local police will work, but it must link to an address in their jurisdiction which (usually) you'd have to prove you actually resided at during those dates (DL number, property records, postal records). There's some wiggle room here. I would advise to the OP to start with lowest authority he can for this, e.g. local city police, as the lengthy and detailed notarization and apostille process, which is mandatory no matter who does the original police check, is all you need to make it official.

But how to GET that first doc of the chain? Honestly, email and skype your local police, making it clear that it is impossible for you to come in in person, and how important it is, and that you'll pay an expedited or service fee, etc, and they might help you out. You can deal directly with DHL or Fed Express to handle all of the shipping of docs needed (again, need plast If they don't, try the cops from another city in which you've lived, and see if maybe you can get away with them dating the check "up to now." It's worth a try-- again, the apostille process is really what makes it legit.
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tideout



Joined: 05 Feb 2011
Posts: 213

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:19 am    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

First of all, I really would like to thank the everyone responding with such detail and advice. It's not a given in ESL land that people will step up with helpful, non-snarky info!

I just found out this AM that a relative of mine is stepping up to help and will send out a form for me (State level) with a non-print "no record found" type of result. There's a stamp area which should get a State level stamp of some kind. They are willing to scan it for me so I can get the thumbs up from the school before having it shipped here.

I guess I'll take it from there and it should buy me some time with the school(s). It sounds like I'll need a certification from someone else. I've heard it suggested by another teacher starting with the school that a Vietnamese local school may have better luck getting it through the bureaucracy than a foreign owned school....who knows though right!

I'll update as this goes forward of course and may post some followup questions......
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shuibird



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:42 pm    Post subject: FBI check Reply with quote

Has anyone used National Background Check, Incorporated to get an FBI check? They had a booth at the TESOL conference in the U.S. this spring. They say they can get the results 48-96 hours after receipt.
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TRH



Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 3:00 pm    Post subject: Re: FBI check Reply with quote

shuibird wrote:
Has anyone used National Background Check, Incorporated to get an FBI check? They had a booth at the TESOL conference in the U.S. this spring. They say they can get the results 48-96 hours after receipt.
You forgot the fine print. Their website say that the 48 hour results are a PDF file and cannot be certified by the Dept of State. For that you have to have the hard copy on bonded paper which the FBI mails only to your home address in not better than one month. The last point is potentially problematic for long term expats who may no longer maintain a home address and don't have parents, siblings or adult children to serve for that. The mailed copy then has to go back to DC for certification so you will need a helper at your US address.

There is one advantage to an FBI check over a local one. The local check will have to be state certified before it goes to US State Dept but the FBI check can go direct.

Another interesting point on the webpage was that you can be fingerprinted at a US Embassy or Consulate. You can do your own fingerprint card but it could be rejected as improperly done. Embassy/Consulate taken prints should be accepted.
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shuibird



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply. Regarding the fingerprints, I can get them done at a local police station or sheriff's office according to the application instructions.
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