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Rteacher
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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I'll re-post here what I posted on the "New E-2 Guidlines" sticky thread:
Well, I've decided to try the online criminal check route suggested by Mr. Lee Dong-wook in his Korea Times op-ed (as noted several times by "Ut videam"...)
Having got my bachelor degree in "paralegal studies" I figured that I'd better go to the U.S. Embassy with a legally sufficient form.
They will give you blanks when you go there (I was approached by someone who showed me his) but after waiting for possibly hours till your number is called you'll just end up with a blank application that you still need to type in...
I drew up my own affidavit form using the model given by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (I just substituted "Seoul, Republic of Korea" for "Tokyo, Japan" ...)
To see their form, go to this link and scroll down to "affidavit"
http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/pdfs/wwwfaffidavit.pdf
Don't sign anything before you get there. Below the first signature line, after it says "being duly sworn, deposes and says" I typed the following:
I, Rxxx Jxxxxx, hereby declare under oath that the criminal records check that I am going to submit to Korean Immigration authorities for the purpose of obtaining an E-2 visa is truthful and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
As suggested by an attorney working with the Republic of Korea Ministry of Justice in an article published in the Korea Times, (Mr. Lee Dong-wook, Esq) I used the online services of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com in order to conveniently get a reliable report while living in South Korea.
I ordered the report on January xx xxxx.
My member number is xxxxx, and my order number is xxxxx
Absolutely no changes have been made to the report..
The vice-consul guy (who seems pretty competent in legal matters) just wished me "good luck" - indicating he has no idea if Korean Immigration will accept it.
However, it looks pretty official after they add their cover page with seal, so I'm fairly confident that it will pass (at least for some people some of the time...)
The cost of the online criminal check (which only took a couple minutes) was $59.00 and the affidavit service at the embassy cost $30 (or 28,500 won ...) |
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svetsky
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject: Reply to UnitedStatesian: CBC process |
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Thanks for your post, you make it sound so easy.
But..i still have some questions. I'm currently in Korea
1..is an online criminal background check okay?
2. if, so, I print it then what do I do for the Apostille? Can I get that done here in Korea?
**The FBI method takes 5-6 months so I'm trying to find a faster way.
**The local police method, not sure if they will do it by mail, still waiting for an answer from San Fran police. If they will do it by mail, then I need to send it back to the U.S. secretary of state offe for an Apostille? |
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svetsky
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject: this may be a repeat so sorry RE UnitedStatesian |
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Can you list exactly your process of getting this CBC done?
1. you applied by mail or email to your local police for CBC ?
2. you requested that the CBC be certified
3. you requested that local police send it to where exactly to get an Apostille? How did you pay for this?
4. you recieved this in korea by mail?
Also does the local police CBC include nationwide information?
thanks and hope to get a response |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject: Re: this may be a repeat so sorry RE UnitedStatesian |
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| svetsky wrote: |
Can you list exactly your process of getting this CBC done?
1. you applied by mail or email to your local police for CBC ?
2. you requested that the CBC be certified
3. you requested that local police send it to where exactly to get an Apostille? How did you pay for this?
4. you recieved this in korea by mail?
Also does the local police CBC include nationwide information?
thanks and hope to get a response |
It would be redundant for me to continue to explain how to do the certified CBC and the Apostille. If you look at the first couple of pages, you will see that I have provided everyone with steps on how to get the cbc.  |
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mastap
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:17 pm Post subject: Re: The "United Statesian" Criminal Check thread |
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| cubanlord wrote: |
If you are from The United States and are wondering how to do the criminal background check, here you go:
Here is the final outcome regarding the �apostille� phenomenon. According to the Chuncheon Immigration Office, in particular, Park OO Kyun (the head of the Chuncheon office) local or FBI checks are okay. However, these checks must be apostillized. Regarding criminal background checks being able to be performed at the embassy, it isn't true. I just contacted the US embassy and they cannot do this. They instructed me to contact my local police station (they reiterated what the immigration office told me).
When an applicant applies for a criminal background check at the local or federal level, that person must make sure s/he asks for the certified version (there are two versions, one certified and one not certified. I verified this by calling my state government) of the criminal background check. Once the applicant has the certified version (approximately 7-10 days to complete), s/he can send it to the state department (in this case, the U.S. state where the criminal check took place). You�ll find the locations in the below links.
The apostillization process takes approximately 5 business days. Once it is completed, it is mailed back using a self-addressed stamped envelope that was originally provided by the sender. In total, applicants are looking at less than 1 month to get the criminal check that Korea is requesting.
Something else you may find of interest is the fact that those already in Korea need not travel outside of the country to transfer their visas or get a new visa. All the applicant needs is the letter of release. Using the letter of release, the new employer can go to immigration and get the new visa. This will save employers a lot in terms of visa costs.
Apostille locations and contact information for those from The United States:
http://www.apostilleinfo.com/usa.htm |
what's the difference b/t a certified and non-certified version of the local criminal background check? they didn't mention anything about the 2 versions at the sheriff's office. i got a clearance letter notarized and apostilled, non fingerprint based. is this ok? |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:36 pm Post subject: Re: The "United Statesian" Criminal Check thread |
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| mastap wrote: |
| cubanlord wrote: |
If you are from The United States and are wondering how to do the criminal background check, here you go:
Here is the final outcome regarding the �apostille� phenomenon. According to the Chuncheon Immigration Office, in particular, Park OO Kyun (the head of the Chuncheon office) local or FBI checks are okay. However, these checks must be apostillized. Regarding criminal background checks being able to be performed at the embassy, it isn't true. I just contacted the US embassy and they cannot do this. They instructed me to contact my local police station (they reiterated what the immigration office told me).
When an applicant applies for a criminal background check at the local or federal level, that person must make sure s/he asks for the certified version (there are two versions, one certified and one not certified. I verified this by calling my state government) of the criminal background check. Once the applicant has the certified version (approximately 7-10 days to complete), s/he can send it to the state department (in this case, the U.S. state where the criminal check took place). You�ll find the locations in the below links.
The apostillization process takes approximately 5 business days. Once it is completed, it is mailed back using a self-addressed stamped envelope that was originally provided by the sender. In total, applicants are looking at less than 1 month to get the criminal check that Korea is requesting.
Something else you may find of interest is the fact that those already in Korea need not travel outside of the country to transfer their visas or get a new visa. All the applicant needs is the letter of release. Using the letter of release, the new employer can go to immigration and get the new visa. This will save employers a lot in terms of visa costs.
Apostille locations and contact information for those from The United States:
http://www.apostilleinfo.com/usa.htm |
what's the difference b/t a certified and non-certified version of the local criminal background check? they didn't mention anything about the 2 versions at the sheriff's office. i got a clearance letter notarized and apostilled, non fingerprint based. is this ok? |
If you got yours apostilled, then you have no problem. The difference between a notarized and a non-notarized is that the notarized check can be apostilled as the "apostille" verifies ONLY the legitimacy of the notary and not your CBC.
If you got your CBC apostilled, then it must have been notarized. No finger printing records are okay. |
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mastap
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:31 pm Post subject: Re: The "United Statesian" Criminal Check thread |
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| cubanlord wrote: |
| mastap wrote: |
| cubanlord wrote: |
If you are from The United States and are wondering how to do the criminal background check, here you go:
Here is the final outcome regarding the �apostille� phenomenon. According to the Chuncheon Immigration Office, in particular, Park OO Kyun (the head of the Chuncheon office) local or FBI checks are okay. However, these checks must be apostillized. Regarding criminal background checks being able to be performed at the embassy, it isn't true. I just contacted the US embassy and they cannot do this. They instructed me to contact my local police station (they reiterated what the immigration office told me).
When an applicant applies for a criminal background check at the local or federal level, that person must make sure s/he asks for the certified version (there are two versions, one certified and one not certified. I verified this by calling my state government) of the criminal background check. Once the applicant has the certified version (approximately 7-10 days to complete), s/he can send it to the state department (in this case, the U.S. state where the criminal check took place). You�ll find the locations in the below links.
The apostillization process takes approximately 5 business days. Once it is completed, it is mailed back using a self-addressed stamped envelope that was originally provided by the sender. In total, applicants are looking at less than 1 month to get the criminal check that Korea is requesting.
Something else you may find of interest is the fact that those already in Korea need not travel outside of the country to transfer their visas or get a new visa. All the applicant needs is the letter of release. Using the letter of release, the new employer can go to immigration and get the new visa. This will save employers a lot in terms of visa costs.
Apostille locations and contact information for those from The United States:
http://www.apostilleinfo.com/usa.htm |
what's the difference b/t a certified and non-certified version of the local criminal background check? they didn't mention anything about the 2 versions at the sheriff's office. i got a clearance letter notarized and apostilled, non fingerprint based. is this ok? |
If you got yours apostilled, then you have no problem. The difference between a notarized and a non-notarized is that the notarized check can be apostilled as the "apostille" verifies ONLY the legitimacy of the notary and not your CBC.
If you got your CBC apostilled, then it must have been notarized. No finger printing records are okay. |
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I got it notarized then apostilled. I'm just worried that someone in Korean immigration might say that a state-wide, fingerprint-based cbc is required. Some people (school managers, recruiters) say that a local cbc is fine, others say state-wide. However according to the sheriff's office, a state-wide cbc is only done by the state DOJ, which means no apostille is needed. Thus to me, the simple fact that the local Korean Consulate told me where to get my cbc apostilled implies that a local cbc is acceptable.
What is your understanding on this? |
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elliemk
Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Location: Sparkling Korea!
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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Rico444 wrote
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| This info is incredibly helpful. Thank you. However, your last line is not 100% accurate. I just got a letter of release and went with my employer to Incheon Immigration to make it official so that my new employer could get started with getting me a new visa. I thought perhaps I could do a simple visa swap but the officer told me that I had to go through the whole process again just as if I was in the US. If I had been at my job for 9 months or more, then I could simply get a new visa without leaving the country. The key is: 9 months or more at your previous job. |
He or she is 100% correct. I phoned Seoul Immigration today and they told me the same thing - that because I haven't been at my new job for more than 9 months, I have to get a new visa by doing a Japan run or going to my home country. |
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elliemk
Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Location: Sparkling Korea!
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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A list of all the U.S. states and the online links to getting a criminal background check is here: http://www.casanet.org/program-management/volunteer-manage/criminal-bkg-check.htm
I don't know if the information for every state is accurate, but I was able to contact the state of Georgia as a result of the information on this site.
Also, the state of Georgia requires fingerprint cards. They are sending them to me. |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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| elliemk wrote: |
Rico444 wrote
| Quote: |
| This info is incredibly helpful. Thank you. However, your last line is not 100% accurate. I just got a letter of release and went with my employer to Incheon Immigration to make it official so that my new employer could get started with getting me a new visa. I thought perhaps I could do a simple visa swap but the officer told me that I had to go through the whole process again just as if I was in the US. If I had been at my job for 9 months or more, then I could simply get a new visa without leaving the country. The key is: 9 months or more at your previous job. |
He or she is 100% correct. I phoned Seoul Immigration today and they told me the same thing - that because I haven't been at my new job for more than 9 months, I have to get a new visa by doing a Japan run or going to my home country. |
Perhaps that is true, perhaps it is the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. There are many of us that don't live or work in Seoul. Regardless, my wife and I have been at our place of employment for over 3 years now; no problems transferring. |
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d.coles
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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Has anyone been issued a visa under the new laws yet? I know the question has been asked but I don't recall seeing an actual answer.
I am getting things in order to go to Korea for the first time. I called the state police (Michigan) and they said they do NOT do national record checks. I was told to go to the local police station and get fingerprinted, send them to the state police (with a check) and I would receive my notarized CRC for the state of Michigan.
Okay, I did all of that and then took everything to the Secretary of State and got the apostille. Everything looks official. And I was thinking I was done.
But now the recruiter that I am working with is telling me this IS NOT sufficient to be issued a visa because it doesn't say it is a national CRC, a state CRC isn't enough.
The Michigan State Police said quite clearly that they DO NOT do NATIONAL checks.
SO, before I try to start all of this all over again, I would really like to know if any newbie has been issued a visa with a State CRC. |
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Cerriowen
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Location: Pocheon
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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Hey, question on the criminal check... I've never had one done, so I hate to sound like a dope.
In the past I've just gotten an extra copy of my sealed transcript to have on me. If i switch jobs, I don't have to go through the process of requesting and having them mailed again.
What about for criminal checks? I mean... I've never seen one. Do they come out looking like sealed transcripts? Can I get an extra one and not have to wait? |
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dimnd
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Western USA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:06 pm Post subject: crim checks |
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| No, an official , notarized crc comes in the form of a letter, offiical with notarized stamp and attached is the record itself...that gets sent into the secy of state..many do it free...you send urself with a sas ..better to have flat overnight envelope..for return, and they send you the apostille you need for ur respective country u need it for. |
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Cerriowen
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Location: Pocheon
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| Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry, another question...
I just checked, and my @!*% state doesn't offer criminal background checks (for employment and visa, who the heck knows why, i don't know).
Is it really OK for me to get one from another STATE? Will that be acceptable? |
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Samantha
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Location: Jinan-dong Hwaseong
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| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:25 am Post subject: |
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What I was told to do when I was home for Christmas was go to the state DOJ (Dept of Justice) and head to the fingerprinting office. There I filled out the proper form for a visa immigration check. It cost me $22 in California. I did the check on Dec 27th I had it in the mail returned to me on the 31st.
The local PD sent me to the DOJ office in Sacramento. After explaining to them what I needed and why this is what they told me to fill out. See if that will work for you. |
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