[ortiz34]

I am moving to Christchurch from the USA in May. My employer is working on getting me an approval in principle for a work permit. However, I am confused as to what I need for my police certificate. Do I need an FBI certificate or is a state certificate sufficient? The FBI one seems like a big hassle due to the fact that I have to find a spot to get my fingerprints taken and mail them in. They also state that it takes 15-18 weeks to obtain this certificate, and that is time that I dont have.

Any help from US expats is appreciated

[DrPhred]

Just call your local police station. They will tell you if they do or you where to go (they forwarded me to the local sherif) I just showed up and payed a small fee. Took about 20 minutes.
The forms are downloadable from the FBI web site for the request. They do need to be done by the FBI. On the form is a spot to write if you are in a time crunch. It took about 6 weeks for mine, but I didn't state any hurry.
Good luck.

[Mexican in NZ]

Just call your local police station. They will tell you if they do or you where to go (they forwarded me to the local sherif) I just showed up and payed a small fee. Took about 20 minutes.
The forms are downloadable from the FBI web site for the request. They do need to be done by the FBI. On the form is a spot to write if you are in a time crunch. It took about 6 weeks for mine, but I didn't state any hurry.
Good luck.
Yep i agree....But i did state that i needed my FBI documents back asap, it does helps that when u have the notice that ur documents have arrived in the FBI offices u contact them once in a while and explain why u need documents so fast....it worked for me :nice1
Good luck!

[CjChris]

I downloaded the forms from the FBI. They are hard to find on the website, so try hard to find them!

I went to the state police headquarters and a lady took my fingerprints. I told her I needed to mail it to the FBI, so she didn't charge me anything. I then mailed the form to the FBI in Clarksburg, WV and the charge was 18.00. I wrote on the cover letter and on the outside of the envelope that I needed it back within two weeks. I got it back in a week!


good luck!

[SarahEDH]

I too downloaded the fingerprint card from the FBI website. My experience was a little different in that the FBI's machine could not read two separate submissions of my prints, and so the first two requests were rejected (I only paid the fee once, however). I don't think they could read the third set either, but after three attempts they did issue the "no record" report. This took more time than I expected but things worked out all right.

[sfordjasiri]

This is the webpage I used to order a police check from the FBI.

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/fprequest.htm

I got the fingerprints taken by a local sheriff's office for US$10.