Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bloopity Bloop]

Hi,

I need to send a "criminal record check" to EPIK and I am confused as to what exactly this is.

I've tried using this website's search function and have read through some threads and I am still unsure of what exactly I need.

I'm currently living outside of my home county--do I need to go back? What exactly do I need--a criminal record check doesn't seem to be a universal document that all police departments know about.

I called my county sheriff's department (Santa Clara) and they said I need a Criminal Record from the Dept. of Justice.

I called the police department in my hometown (Palo Alto) and they said they could give me a "clearance letter" which they said is essentially the same thing as a criminal record check (but it basically just states that I have not committed crimes in Palo Alto).

And then I read about using Live-Scan to get a check from the Dept. of Justice but it also says that I can't give it to a third-party.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm so confused--I'd like to get it quickly so I'll have a better chance in terms of placement.

I really didn't want my first post on Dave's to be this lame, but I need help!

[Bloopity Bloop]

I (finally) figured everything out and am simply writing the criminal check process out here to benefit those still unsure of what to do.

I called the Korean Education Center in LA--they handle all EPIK/TALK/whatever documents. I was told that all you need is a "letter of clearance" from your local sheriff's department.

For those of you who have only lived in the county wherein you currently reside for only part of your life, that is FINE. For example, I lived in San Mateo County until middle school and then moved to Santa Clara County. All I need is a Santa Clara County letter of clearance.

You DO NOT need it to be notarized or apostilled anywhere besides the Korean Education Center.

For those of you that have not graduated yet, but are expecting to graduate (summer graduation, etc.), all you need is a letter from your school that confirms that you will by a August, or whatever. This will also be apostilled at the Korean Education Center.

So don't waste time notarizing/apostilling anywhere besides the Korean Education Center. Local criminal checks work! You do not need to go through the FBI or the Dept. of Justice.

I was struggling with a lot of these questions myself only a few hours ago and I hope this helps other confused EPIK newbies.

[cvmurrieta]

This is good advice. I will try the San Diego County's Sheriff Department

[NCdan]

The superior court is the easiest way to get it done. I live in Palmdale and the sheriff's station didn't do it (neither did the Lancaster one), but a quick trip to the Supreme Court and everything was great. Now I just need to get it apostilled. Should I mail it or what? I really don't want to drive for 3 hours.

[Bloopity Bloop]

cvmurrieta: glad this info was helpful

ncdan: I was under the impression that mailing it would take a long time (although I'm not completely sure). I would just call the Korean Education Center and ask them. They were incredibly helpful.

[alphakennyone]

^

Hey, another San Diegan.


I was just told by my recruiter that local checks are no longer acceptable, so it looks like I won't be going through the sheriff but I'll be going through the Dept. of Justice/Attorney general instead. Planning to get live-scan fingerprints and then have those sent to Sacramento... unless...

Would a "clearance letter" from the sheriff count as a state-wide check, or just local? I was told maybe if they printed something like "State of California" at the top (lol) it might be ok.

Blech, I could've gone through either process a week ago, but I keep getting conflicting information. I just read this post 5 hours after getting an e-mail from a recruiter saying local checks are a no-go.

Hell, I even called the Korean embassy in LA and they told me only FBI checks were acceptable ("maybe," that is).

[Bloopity Bloop]

[alphakennyone]

What's their #, anyway? I might give them a call too.

Since it's the embassy/consulate which issues my visa, it seems very irresponsible of them to be giving out false information on their own requirements, no?

[NCdan]

I called the Korean Education Center today and they do indeed notarize and apostille criminal background checks... ONLY if you go through them as a recruiting agency. I am trying to SMOE, so I guess I can't go through them. The lady I talked to said I would have to go "somewhere else in LA;" does anyone know where in LA I can get a notarized criminal background check apostilled?

[Bloopity Bloop]

[Bloopity Bloop]

[NCdan]

[Bloopity Bloop]

[Bloopity Bloop]

Sorry for the misinformation.

NCDan was correct (thanks for checking)... you have to use Korean Education Center as a recruiter in order to take advantage of their notary/apostille services (not sure why they didn't tell me that before).

She said I'd have to go somewhere else in LA to get this done. I'm going to give them a call and update the information.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update:

Okay, so you can obtain an apostille on a background check from a California Secretary of State Office.

What you need to do is obtain a background check, have it notarized and bring it to the county clerk for them to verify the notarization. Then you can bring it to one of 4 Secretary of State offices around California.

Here is a link to the addresses (Sacramento, Fresno, San Diego, Los Angeles, & San Francisco): http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/notary_authentication.htm

I'm still trying to figure everything out.

[i_teach_esl]

<---- san diegan!