KSA Work Visa for Iqama for US Citizen

sidurian - I was going to welcome you to  the forum, but Im not sure I should! 

the problem is that about 15 years or so ago i had a conviction (not sure what - maybe simple assault!  stemming from a traffic altercation).

If you are not sure what you were convicted of      maybe you shouldn't be issued a work visa!   

hehehe - just stay on my good side!

Don't count on getting a straight answer out of anyone, as the amount of time since the offense, the particular offense, etc. all play a role... At the end of the day it all really comes down to whoever is holding the "approved" stamp that day at the consulate.

Don't worry about wasting people's time...send in the documents and see what happens.

Okay, peeps.. I'm about to let you in on a secret, one of those extremely strange things about coming to Saudi Arabia.

While I had to have everything verified up the wazoo, when it came to the police clearance it turned out to be NOTHING.  I thought I'd have to do the whole State Police/fingerprint thing like I'd done for my teaching license (and I was fully prepared to do so), but that had taken weeks so I was trying to wrap things up so I looked into this more closely.

It turned out that ALL I had to do was go to my LOCAL  (that's right.. LOCAL) police station and they filled out the form .. based on THEIR computer records (which encompass only MY TOWN) ... that I'd never been in any trouble.

Irony, of course, is that I could have murdered somebody in the NEXT town but it wouldn't show up on my LOCAL town's computer records!

It's a bizarro world

Trust me when I tell you that all of the info on you is in their records from the very insignificant traffic violations to the more major infractions, or felonies.  And don't think for one second that they can't access info from another town, city or state, be it local or federal.   The real questions are how far back are they required to go and what type of offenses are they looking for?  I agree with WTENGEL, it depends on who is doing the reporting & approving...

And, Im sure that there are Federal Guidelines on what type of reporting is required.

I know someone that was sited in 2009 for a 10 yr old traffic violation that happened in another state!     The circumstances were pretty funny too! 

CAF,

I'm telling you, I stood there and waited while they did it.  The clerk typed my name into the computer and 10 seconds later it showed that the township police had never arrested me.

Now, how I know they weren't networked into a statewide or national database is that something from my wreckless youth should have come up... but it didn't.*

Now, maybe it was different for you but in the small area where I live, this is how it worked.  In fact, it was I who insisted they include my passport number and number of years at my address on the form just to make it seem more official.  I also requested they notarize it (again, to make it seem more official).

*not that it would have kept me from getting the visa, but still it should have come up

Thanks for the feedback - will go to my local police station for a record but i'm sure they'll refer me to the records office at Fairfax County.  The bit about the local station vs. the larger township/county is interesting:  What type of form was used to fill out the police report?