# Police Clearance - USA - Should i get clearance for all states?



## auzee_bujji (Jan 25, 2012)

Hi,

I have a doubt regarding PCC USA. I'm in USA for last 23 months, I was in state A for first 21 months and currently in state B for two months. Should I get state police clearance from both the states?

Please advice. Thanks in advance for your reply.


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## nowhereKid (Feb 5, 2012)

In my understanding, you will need to get Federal clearance from the FBI and in that case local (State) PCCs should not matter.
Also, the state I'm in, Pennsylvania lets you get your Police clearance online for $10. They run your Social Security Number and give you an immediate response with a PDF that can be printed.
Good luck!


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## auzee_bujji (Jan 25, 2012)

nowhereKid said:


> In my understanding, you will need to get Federal clearance from the FBI and in that case local (State) PCCs should not matter.
> Also, the state I'm in, Pennsylvania lets you get your Police clearance online for $10. They run your Social Security Number and give you an immediate response with a PDF that can be printed.
> Good luck!


Hi nowherekid, thanks for your response. mm I read from the DIAC instruction that residents ( I assume here residents means the people/applicants who are in US at time of applying) need to provide State + FBI and non residents need to prodvide FBI clearance alone.

You are lucky that Pennsylvania provides online option. For my case (NJ), it is lengthy procedure., mm tons of paper work until we get the visa granted. Any way all these hurdles are part and parcel of PR process 

Thanks


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## nowhereKid (Feb 5, 2012)

auzee_bujji said:


> Hi nowherekid, thanks for your response. mm I read from the DIAC instruction that residents ( I assume here residents means the people/applicants who are in US at time of applying) need to provide State + FBI and non residents need to prodvide FBI clearance alone.
> 
> You are lucky that Pennsylvania provides online option. For my case (NJ), it is lengthy procedure., mm tons of paper work until we get the visa granted. Any way all these hurdles are part and parcel of PR process
> 
> Thanks


Hey auzee_bujji,
Are you a GC holder or a citizen? I'm on my H1B and I am a resident only for tax purposes but considered a non-resident alien otherwise.
And for tax purposes as well, only a resident if I pass the 'substantial presence test'.
Let me know what you think.
cheers,
-nK


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## auzee_bujji (Jan 25, 2012)

nowhereKid said:


> Hey auzee_bujji,
> Are you a GC holder or a citizen? I'm on my H1B and I am a resident only for tax purposes but considered a non-resident alien otherwise.
> And for tax purposes as well, only a resident if I pass the 'substantial presence test'.
> Let me know what you think.
> ...


I'm not a GC holder or citizen. I'm L1 visa holder. I'm not sure what DIAC mean "Resident". Whether a person residing in the country (any visa) or permanent resident. I'll raise PLE with DIAC to get this confirmed.


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## mandhani (Jun 17, 2010)

auzee_bujji said:


> I'm not a GC holder or citizen. I'm L1 visa holder. I'm not sure what DIAC mean "Resident". Whether a person residing in the country (any visa) or permanent resident. I'll raise PLE with DIAC to get this confirmed.


That will be of great help..I am also resident of NJ on H1B..though stayed in VA for 18 months on L1..so inputs from you guys will be really help me as what needs to be done..

As always this forum and members make journey comfortable and great source of information.


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## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

All you need is FBI Clearance unless you have GC or Citizenship.


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## auzee_bujji (Jan 25, 2012)

onlyassignments said:


> All you need is FBI Clearance unless you have GC or Citizenship.


Aah, glad to hear this. One more hazzle of getting additional clearance is gone.


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## stormgal (Sep 30, 2009)

auzee_bujji said:


> Aah, glad to hear this. One more hazzle of getting additional clearance is gone.



I used to think this, but now I disagree - I think a "resident" means someone who is currently living in the US.


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## mandhani (Jun 17, 2010)

stormgal said:


> I used to think this, but now I disagree - I think a "resident" means someone who is currently living in the US.


Seems like a grey area now to me....

can anyone with first hand experience share this as what exactly is required in terms of PCC from USA


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## WeekrisH (Feb 21, 2011)

mandhani said:


> Seems like a grey area now to me....
> 
> can anyone with first hand experience share this as what exactly is required in terms of PCC from USA


If you are currently resident in the US you need both FBI and state checks completed. If you have lived in the US previously for more than a year you need only the FBI check completed.

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## lifeisgood (Mar 30, 2010)

You need just one PCC from FBI..
no need to get PCC's from all the states..




auzee_bujji said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have a doubt regarding PCC USA. I'm in USA for last 23 months, I was in state A for first 21 months and currently in state B for two months. Should I get state police clearance from both the states?
> 
> Please advice. Thanks in advance for your reply.


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## stormgal (Sep 30, 2009)

lifeisgood said:


> You need just one PCC from FBI..
> no need to get PCC's from all the states..



He does need 3 police checks - one from the FBI and the two from the two different States he lived in. Reason is because he's lived in those two States within the last year. 

If one is a current resident of the US one has to provide local police checks. 

I think that there is a confusion with the word, "Resident". Resident has nothing to do with citizenship or PR. A "resident" is a person who's literally living and working in a country. 

Here's the copied and pasted instructions from DIAC's website:

*Residents *
_You will also need to obtain a police certificate from your local (State) police department *covering your last 12 months of residence*. Apply in person or by mail to the relevant city, county or state police department. 
The type of certificate issued depends on individual state procedure_


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## mandhani (Jun 17, 2010)

stormgal said:


> He does need 3 police checks - one from the FBI and the two from the two different States he lived in. Reason is because he's lived in those two States within the last year.
> 
> If one is a current resident of the US one has to provide local police checks.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for this useful info.

It means if I am staying in NJ since 1 April 2011 so if I am asked PCC after 1st of April 2012 then need to produce only NJ PCC and not VA PCC.


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## lifeisgood (Mar 30, 2010)

Oh ok..
I didnt read the part where he said that he currently lives in USA..



stormgal said:


> He does need 3 police checks - one from the FBI and the two from the two different States he lived in. Reason is because he's lived in those two States within the last year.
> 
> If one is a current resident of the US one has to provide local police checks.
> 
> ...


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## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

you Only need FBI Clearance unless you are Green Card Holder or Citizen. I got my 175 approved last July, and i have been living here for 11 years now in multiple states. I am not a citizen or Greencard holder, so i only needed FBI Clearance. I hope I have cleared things up.


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## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

FBI clearance= For everyone who have lived at least 12 months in USA.
State Clearance= For Greencard Holders and Citizens only


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## AUSAPPLY (May 4, 2012)

lifeisgood said:


> You need just one PCC from FBI..
> no need to get PCC's from all the states..


Hello Lifeisgood,

I was in US from 2005 - 2007 and currently in Singapore. Can you please let me know the procedure of getting the PCC from FBI?

Thanks


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## Sanjukta (Mar 9, 2012)

*Recent first hand experience of PCC from USA*

I am currently in USA and I am on L1 visa. I was asked to submit both FBI and state police clearence. I have lived only in 1 state so it was FBI and IL clearence.

Stormgal is right .....resident here does not mean GC holder or a citizen it means any person in any visa who is currently living in the USA.

Please read the PDF in DIAC website which guides on how to get PCCs. At the beginning it is mentioned that the word resident in this case means one who is currently residing.

While one may have been able to get visa without the state clearence if I were you I would not take a chance and get started on getting these clearences and the sooner the better.


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## gladwin (Feb 8, 2013)

Hi, I 'm living in USA on H1, Do I need to take both FBI clearance and state police clearance, or FBI alone would serve the purpose? . what is your experience?


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

gladwin said:


> Hi, I 'm living in USA on H1, Do I need to take both FBI clearance and state police clearance, or FBI alone would serve the purpose? . what is your experience?


As has been mentioned previously in this thread and on the DIAC website, if you are currently resident in the US, you need an FBI clearance AND a state police clearance from the state in which you currently reside. If you have resided in more than one state over the past year, you will also need a PCC from that state/those states as well.


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## mandhani (Jun 17, 2010)

*State clearance was not required for me*

I am living in US for last 4 years ..first on L1 and last 2.5 years on H1 and have lived in VA and NJ.I submitted only FBI clearance and thought will submit State clearance IF ASKED. But I was never asked for state clearance and got my grant last month.

It looks like it depends upon CO but state clearence was costing 100 USD or so thus I decided to wait and watch and it was in my favor.


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## zivziva (Feb 23, 2012)

Did grant mention initial entry date by which one should enter Australia?


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## mandhani (Jun 17, 2010)

zivziva said:


> Did grant mention initial entry date by which one should enter Australia?


It always does.


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## zivziva (Feb 23, 2012)

Generally initial entry date is listed in months/ years?


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

*Need info on Police Clearance*

Folks, I will be really glad if some one can help me on Police Clearance.

My wife is the primary applicant for the 189 visa. She is currently in US.She's been there since October 2013 and she will remain there till this year end(i.e Dec 2014) .I would be accompanying her this April. 

Here is my query :

Would like to know, if I get through the visa processing and then asked for police clearance ,

1)Do I need to take police clearance right now for myself and my wife ? She isn't in India since last October would I still able to get her police clearance ?

or

2) If my wife needed a PC from US only which is the body she would need to approach for ?


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## rahulreshu (Aug 11, 2013)

It would help if you had provided some more info regarding where processing is as far as your wife's Australia PR is concerned.

Some people front-load all their docs, some people wait to hear from CO and then only proceed for Medical and PCC. In my case, I was aware that FBI PCC can take some time so I applied for it 1st and when I would see a charge on my cc from FBI, I would then proceed with my India PCC and medicals (My CO requested our medicals and PCCs before the charge appeared so we went for the meds and India PCC right-away after that). The reason behind why some people delay their PCC and Medical is that the initial entry date is 1 year from the earliest of the PCCs and medical. I don't think you can get a PCC for your wife. You are expected to go in-person to the PSK where they take your picture, etc so I don't see how it would be possible for you to get her PCC. She could contact the embassy there although I've read that applying for Indian PCC outside of India can take some time.

For getting an PCC from USA, she'd have to contact FBI.
FBI — Submitting a Criminal History Summary to the FBI





nsananguly said:


> Folks, I will be really glad if some one can help me on Police Clearance.
> 
> My wife is the primary applicant for the 189 visa. She is currently in US.She's been there since October 2013 and she will remain there till this year end(i.e Dec 2014) .I would be accompanying her this April.
> 
> ...


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

Rahul,

Thanks a lot for the reply. Its been close to 3 weeks since I submitted to ACS and awaiting their reply.


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## rahulreshu (Aug 11, 2013)

Ok, ACS can take some time. I had submitted it in the 2nd week of Aug and got the result in the 2nd week of Nov. Do you know how many points she's scoring?


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

nsananguly said:


> Folks, I will be really glad if some one can help me on Police Clearance.
> 
> My wife is the primary applicant for the 189 visa. She is currently in US.She's been there since October 2013 and she will remain there till this year end(i.e Dec 2014) .I would be accompanying her this April.
> 
> ...


She will need a PCC from the FBI and a state police clearance from the state in which she currently resides. She will also need an Indian PCC.


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

Her application is in stage 4.Still awaiting for the reply.


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

Hope she would score 10 points.


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

Would there be a official document from the CO for PCC ?


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## rahulreshu (Aug 11, 2013)

I meant the overall number of points. What is the occupation code and how many total is she scoring as of now?

I had received a request checklist from the CO that mentioned overseas police clearance and even took a printout of it for my India PCC but they just gave it back to me. I've read some PSK's require something to show why it's needed... guess it varies from city to city. For FBI PCC, you don't need anything.


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## nsananguly (Sep 3, 2012)

*Police clearance*

Her overall score is 65. And the skill set she applied for is Software tester - 261314


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