police certificate

I've asked this on DIA but haven't had a complete response yet and I'm impatient!

We're sending off the I-130 by the end of July and while I know we don't need the police certificate for that, it's something we need to think about.

DH has moved around tons since his late teens. So how do we go about the police certificate? Do we just go to our local constabulary in Exeter and they do a search? Will we need to provide all his addresses he's ever lived at? How much does it generally cost?

Anyone?

TIA!

Does it say on the US Embassy website what they will accept? I know you can get one from Scotland Yard but I'm not sure how exactly you go about getting it, I am pretty sure you can just write and ask for a copy of his records pursuant to the Data Protection Act. I think it takes about 6 weeks for them to process.

Balmerhon, yes go to your local police station and ask for the background check form. Fill out the form (DH's went to Thames Valley Police headquarters) your form will tell you where to send it to. The cost is £10 or £20 (we just did this but I forget). You will have to report every place that your husband lived in the UK since age 18. There won't be enough room for several addresses (I think 5 lines or so) but you can attach an extra page (we had to).

One downside is that you have to get a countersigner (you know the usual - GP, nurse, policeman, solicitor, vicar, etc) to sign that they have known you and you are of good character. When we did this back in 2004 that wasn't a requirement but we know how things change. I find it kind of ironic that they ask for that because afterall its your personal information that you are requesting about yourself (in our case the DH's). Anyone should have the right to obtain their record especially when you are paying for it.  Anyway, I digress.

The cost is £10 or £20 (we just did this but I forget).

According to the CRB the current fee is £31 for standard disclosure and £36 for the enhanced:

http://www.crb.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1863

According to the CRB the current fee is £31 for standard disclosure and £36 for the enhanced:

http://www.crb.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1863

Now that I am home I just pulled out the paperwork and the fee that we paid was £10. I received a receipt back saying £10 received from Mr. X (husband) and a note saying "we are now processing your application.

The name of the application is "Subject Access Application Form".

I just sent the request to Thames Valley Police off today (jules, where do you live?  We're in Abingon, Oxfordshire) and the fee is 10.  You pick up a form from your local police station and the form should have directions on it as to next steps.

It's £10 for Devon too.. just did this and you don't need a countersignature here as of yet (I did this a few weeks ago) just a copy of a photo id.  We sent his Driver's and Passport. The form is even on the web.. go to the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary webiste and search for Subject Access Application Form.  Fill it in make the copies and send in a cheque.  You  just need the Scotland Yard one as far as I understand because any crime that would keep you out of the US is going to be on the national database anyway.  We also had to request our US one...

I just sent the request to Thames Valley Police off today (jules, where do you live?  We're in Abingon, Oxfordshire) and the fee is 10.  You pick up a form from your local police station and the form should have directions on it as to next steps.

We are in Reading and the address we had to send it to The Thames Valley Police station is Kidlington.

It's £10 for Devon too.. just did this and you don't need a countersignature here as of yet (I did this a few weeks ago) just a copy of a photo id.  We sent his Driver's and Passport. The form is even on the web.. go to the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary webiste and search for Subject Access Application Form.  Fill it in make the copies and send in a cheque.  You  just need the Scotland Yard one as far as I understand because any crime that would keep you out of the US is going to be on the national database anyway.  We also had to request our US one...

Thanks to you and everyone else!

It's £10 for Devon too.. just did this and you don't need a countersignature here as of yet (I did this a few weeks ago) just a copy of a photo id.  We sent his Driver's and Passport. The form is even on the web.. go to the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary webiste and search for Subject Access Application Form.  Fill it in make the copies and send in a cheque.

That's exactly what I did - I had to send my passport in for ID verification though.

We also had to request our US one...

Police check?

Yes, she and her DH lived in the US first - now they are going back.

Now that I am home I just pulled out the paperwork and the fee that we paid was £10.

{.....}

The name of the application is "Subject Access Application Form".

Ah, this is just the request for information held about you on the Police National Computer under the terms of the Data Protection Act, not the full check through the Criminal Records Bureau that I had in mind.

Yes Paul... luckily we don't need a CRB... well yet anyway!

That's right Tam we lived in the US for 3.5 years before moving here... so we need his record for the US state as well... DH is a former green card holder.

That's interesting.  So, his green card wasn't good for life?  Call me naive, but I thought a green card didn't expire.  I just keep learning as we go along the process!

I thought a green card didn't expire

It becomes void if you cease to live in the U.S. for a certain length of time. It was 2 years maximum when mine became invalidated because I was unable to return.  If I wanted to go back now I'd have to go through the whole immigration process again from scratch.