Spouse Outside Canada - FBI & Police Clearance Certificates

Part of the background check process is requesting certificates of record from the FBI and your state of residence.

One thing I don't know yet is how long they are good for once you get them. Another thing is whether you need one from each state you've ever lived in, or just from the one you're living in now. (It stands to reason it'd be the former, I suppose.)

I found that the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS Division) website has some details on this process. It's described in detail in Appendix B of the IMM 3910 Country Specific Instructions from the Spouse Outside Canada list of required documentation.

There are various options for doing this, but it appears that for this purpose, the process is as follows:

1. Write to the FBI to request an FD-258 Blank Fingerprint Form
2. Bring the form and your ID to a local police station or fingerprinting service and be fingerprinted, preferably by a fingerprinting technician
3. Send the following items to the FBI at:
   

   FBI CJIS Division – Record Request
   1000 Custer Hollow Road
   Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306

   1. Complete cover letter (provided by FBI on website above)
   2. PC-1 request letter from CIC (also provided in Appendix B)
   3. Fingerprinted form
   4. $18 fee (money order, certified check, or money order)
4. Wait 8-10 weeks for processing
5. The FBI will mail back either the fingerprint card stamped with "No Record" or an FBI Identification Record
6. Sponsor sends originals to Case Processing Centre - Mississauga (CPC-M) with rest of forms
   

For residents of California, fingerprinting is done electronically with a process called Live Scan. For people living outside of California, it's done the traditional way on a fingerprint card.

1. Fill out a BCII RR8016 Request for Live Scan Service
2. Take it and a picture I.D. to a Live Scan site
3. PC-1 request letter from CIC (also provided in Appendix B)

I got the following information from the Los Angeles police dept:

How can I get a police clearance letter for immigration purposes?

California Department of Justice: The California Department of Justice (DOJ) will provide a statewide criminal clearance if you are an immigration applicant and you have been directed to obtain California or local clearances by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, by a United States consulate or embassy, or by a foreign government for emigration from the United States. Processing time is approximately three to four weeks. For recorded DOJ clearance letter information, call 916-227-3822.

Federal Bureau of Investigation: You may also request a clearance letter for the purposes of immigration, emigration and visas from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI furnishes national clearances directly to the embassy or consulate that is processing the applicant. For further information regarding an FBI clearance letter, please call the FBI at 304-625-3878.

There is a Canadian immigration website called Canadavisa.com that has a state-by-state listing for Police Clearance Certificates with addresses, phone numbers, instructions, and fee amounts. I wouldn't blindly trust its accuracy, but this looks like a great place to get phone numbers to confirm details, and/or web search keywords to look up their websites and verify information there. According to this same website, police certificates are considered valid for 6 months and are needed for each country in which the person has resided for more than 6 months since age 18. Interestingly, much like the aforementioned IMM 3910, no mention is made as to whether this same residency restriction also determines which states you need a certificate for. (I know what common sense dictates, but for something this important I'd rather not cause potential delays or incur extra expense by guessing.)