FBI police clearance

[chiliverde]

Thanks Shop, for the helpful advice.

I do need to do the prints myself, unfortunately. I live in Europe and the Embassy here said they wouldn't do this service for me. Haven't found anyone else that the US considers valid to take the prints.

I tried to do them last night and currently have fingers covered in ink (parent teacher conferences are today. Real good thinking there) and have little confidence that I did them right.

If they can identify people from crime scene prints, surely they can tell that it's me?? Ugh.

In France you can just do it all online. WTF America.

[shopaholic]

I don't think you can do them yourself!

Can you go to a local police station and request that they do these?

[shopaholic]

Also, nail varnish remover will take off the ink :)

[PsyGuy]

@chiliverde

You may have asked the embassy where to go and have them done. In the EU the gendarmerie has a technical services division that does this task. The embassy should have someone for you to go to, since this process is required for international adoptions.

As posted earlier you could do them yourself if your willing to obfuscate the signature of the technician. However the FBI wouldnt accept prints you rolled yourself, so if your concern is "acceptability" yours are no more acceptable than anyone elses, and at least a professional will get you quality prints.

Any petroleum based product even petro will remove the ink.

@shopaholic

Actually there are a number of police units that dont do this anymore, they have converted to digital scan systems that are integrated into the identification network, there isnt a way for them to print/export a fingerprint card, and as such no longer have the plate, ink, and roller for collecting prints.

[crypticvenus]

I had my fingerprints done here in Nigeria. I needed a local clearance for my next post then I asked the police officials if they would do ink prints for me. I had previously downloaded the FBI form then had them to print it out. They had no problem doing the ink prints.

I found a FBI Channeler that did not emphasize needing two copies of the fingerprint cards because I only had one. I mailed it off and received an email from the channeler that they had received my prints and then another email when the report was being mailed to my ppl stateside. The process maybe took 3 weeks, if that.

Looking back I should have asked for my digital prints from the police officials here so that I can always have a copy in my possession, I suppose I'll do that before my time is up here. Also ask around for individuals who can do this for you. If someone has the equipment see if they don't mind taking the equipment to the police headquarters and then have someone there to use it and sign off on your form.

[chiliverde]

Thank you everyone, for so earnestly trying to help. Not helping the problem is the fact that I live in a Western European country that is internationally famous for inept bureaucracy. I went to the local police station today, who confirmed that they cannot perform this service for me, and that services in the private sector do not exist either. They suggested I see a lawyer. As a very solution-oriented person, I am finding this endlessly frustrating. I've already had one colleague say she thinks I will need to fly back stateside... Will update if I somehow have a breakthrough here.

[shopaholic]

You should contact your embassy again. Send an email detailing the reason you need the prints, and the steps you've taken to obtain them, as well as the answers you've been given. Ask them if they can make an exception and do the prints. They can do this.

[chiliverde]

Right?? Pretty ridiculous. I will follow your advice and keep asking them. Thanks.

[PsyGuy]

@chiliverde

The technical services unit may not have services or a place in your local police office. I would strongly suggest you contact the embassy again and ask them for their recommendation on where to go to have your fingerprints done. If there is no private enterprise that can take your fingerprints why the police would recommend a lawyer makes no sense. You may have to travel to another city or possibly another neighboring country to have the prints taken. Sometimes the embassy will only take fingerprints for certain reasons (such as international adoption) and you need to use those magi words and the pretense of pursuing that pathway. I wouldnt advice email, those get routine answers, if your looking for an exception you want you want to do it in person.

@shopaholic

Not all embassys/consults have someone trained in taking fingerprints and not all of them have the materials and the space.

[shopaholic]

Actually, PsyGuy, every embassy DOES have the resources to do the prints. Many of them won't do prints routinely for anyone who asks, but they CAN do them, and they DO make exceptions. This is how I had my prints done, and this was all aided and explained to me by a friend who works at the embassy; my friend has been in a dozen embassy posts, so he does know what he is talking about. You don't work at an embassy, do you?

Email is better because they are required to answer each email, and you can calmly ensure that all of your circumstances and the steps you took are laid out. If you don't know anyone working at the embassy, then calling and speaking to a lower-level person who is inclined to just cut you off by saying they won't do the prints won't get you anywhere.

[PsyGuy]

@shopaholic

No they dont and yes, I was a former FSO. I should have stated not every mission has the materials or someone trained to take prints, Embassys usually do (even then maintaining the plate kit isnt on the top of anyones priority list, especially whent heres a local resource, but even then I wouldnt bet coin on it.) but consulates is hit or miss. I would disagree with your friend.

Well if all you get is the standard form reply to email, then no it doesnt work, getting a response isnt helpful if its just the same form response, the same is true by phone. What you want to do is be there, F2F, as its more likely someone will take pity on you seeing the look of desperation and frustration in your face.

[shopaholic]

PsyGuy, US embassies do have the resources to do the prints. Every US embassy, everywhere. I stand by my advice to the teacher in Europe: her embassy CAN do the prints. There is no American embassy that does not have the resources to do this.

[PsyGuy]

@shopaholic

Thats not true and we disagree, not every embassy and consulate has the resources to provide this service to the public. The LWs embassy may have the materials and the trained staff and they may not.

[shopaholic]

PsyGuy, every American embassy has the resources to do the prints. You are adding the "to the public" qualification, which means you are no longer responding to my original assertion. All American embassies have the resources to do the prints because the prints are required for essential processes the embassies conduct, and I doubt you know much or anything about what these processes are. The embassies may choose to offer the service to the public or not, but the fact is that every US embassy has the resources to do the prints, and they DO make exceptions for individual citizens at times, even when their blanket policy at that particular embassy is to refuse the prints.

[PsyGuy]

@shopaholic

A number of missions have converted too or adapted livescan technology for internal use and do not maintain the materials or resources to roll fingerprints using a card and thus can not do so for official business or for public availability. Even that aside, and in response to your issue directly, their are consulates/ embassies that do not have the materials or staff to complete rolled inked fingerprints.

Actually no, embassies and consulates do not have essential functions that require a regular need for fingerprinting. All US employees have cleared their CRB and background checks well before taking post, when local staff are hired they really on different methods for doing CRBs, rarely do they require fingerprinting and when it does they will either use an offsite provider or have a specialist brought in for that purpose. Missions are not forensics labs and even one of their main identification functions such as visas and passports dont require fingerprints. Even RSOs arent generally trained in latent fingerprint collection or rolling fingerprints. Its not a detention facility where fingerprinting is a routine task. There is nothing "essential" to a missions duties or function that require fingerprinting.

Embassies rarely, Im even comfortable saying 'never' choose to offer fingerprinting, its a pain. The certification and training course is a day and requires extensive and expensive travel, maintaining the kits is a mess and having a space thats conducive to the process always involves major cleanup. No one wants to do it. When its offered its because someone at the executive level decided to do it. You will not find a line level member in the consular section that wants or likes doing fingerprinting, no one ever asked the pool of line consular officers if they want to do fingerprinting at their mission, no one raised their hand for that. Its usually an adverse assignment intended as a punitive measure getting stuck with fingerprinting duty.

As I wrote earlier, if the consulate/embassy has the resources and staff then the best way to get an exception is doing so in person and finding out if there is a particular program (such as an international adoption) that offers a general exception. If a mission has a general exception for some kind of program they are usually done on a regular and specific day of the month (such as the last or first Friday of the month).

Again, I disagree with you and your source.