FBI BACKGROUND CHECK

Ken, the following link will help. Good luck

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you … ary-checks

Hi travlerbyheart....

Thank you for your response to my dilemma, but the link you mentioned didn't make it into

the post. Can you resend it directly to my gmail account, please:

***

I appreciate it.

Ken M

@Remo Zimbaldi

If you are willing to travel to Medellin to get your fingerprints, there is a company that Peligro's visa facilitator recommends.  Do a google search of the following text to find the link to their website:

Empresa especializada en la indagación a personas, empresas y documentos, con énfasis en el análisis e investigación de los aspectos laborales, familiares, académicos y comerciales del capital humano que conforman las empresas en Antioquia y todo el territorio Nacional.

@Mr. Barley

Thank you for the reply, Mr.Barley.  Unfortunately that text, and the website associated with it,

are in Spanish, and my Spanish is still quite limited.

Also, this doesn't address a piece of information I've received several times from several people,

that the FBI only accepts fingerprints done IN the United States.

My own Visa service in Medellin sent me a link to a third party service who will do fingerprints here

for an FBI check, but even on THEIR website, at the very end, it states that the FBI requires fingerprints

to be in the US.

Other people say no, you can safely use the more reputable services offered here in Colombia.

This is what is confusing the hell out of me.  I would happily travel to Medellin to get my fingerprints

done, if I could be 100% sure that the FBI will accept them, and proceed with my background check.

I have, within the past few days, received confirmation that my application for a 90 extension on my

stay here in Colombia has been granted, so I do have a BIT of time to get this figured out, but so far,

over the PAST 90 days, I've been completely stymied by all the conflicting information I've been getting

from so many local sources.

BTW, the US Embassy is NO HELP AT ALL.  They're a full-on mess over there.  And good luck trying to

get a live voice on the phone at any FBI office in the states!!

Ken Moore

I got my fingerprints for my fbi report done in Ecuador, but that was a long time ago.

As for the Spanish, you don't have to read it. Just Google it and then click the link. Their address is at the bottom of the web page, but I bet you already knew that.

Here is what Peligro's visa facilitator website says:

"8. Send the card with fingerprints

= If you are in the U.S, you can go to a post office to have your fingerprints taken. See the list of participating U.S post offices.

= If you are outside the U.S, you must send your fingerprint card, using the form FD-258, along with a copy of the confirmation e-mail to:"

So basically, there is no indication that you can't have your fingerprints taken in Colombia. I will leave it to Peligro to vouch for his visa facilitator's dependability on these matters.

Check out info here for getting figerprints in colombia. Medellin has finger print agencies, and then you can get fbi background check from colombia

medellinlawyer.com/usa-criminal-background-report/

also check out colombiavisas.com for more info.

I hope this helps.

James Lindzey

@JAMES LINDZEY

James, how goes the job search for a blogger? I would like to offer my services as a blogger free of charge for 2 years in exchange for facilitating a visa for me. I know  that to keep it legal, you would have to pay me the minimum salary and pay my eps. Therefore,  I would reimburse you 100% of your costs. Heck, the visa could even be a Mercosur or Andino migrante visa, since I am an Ecuadorian citizen--but I would need some kind of legitimate activity in Colombia to justify the visa other than simply hanging out.

Send me a pm if interested.

If you have ever been fingerprinted for example a government job etc. then your should have your prints already available in the USA to the FBI. ???

@USAmario ... What if you were fingerprinted 50 years ago in the 1970s, before computers existed in offices?

@USAmario ... What if you were fingerprinted 50 years ago in the 1970s, before computers existed in offices?
-@futuroexpat

I was fingerprinted by USCG and worked in Merchant Marine driving Tugboats and Ships. It was very early in my career and yes times changed to the computer age  but fingerprints don't of course unless you have injury to said prints ie scars...burns...cuts but to injure all would be an extraordinary circumstance so one would need to get Toe-Prints ??? Its doable but you need to get creative I suppose

If you have ever been fingerprinted for example a government job etc. then your should have your prints already available in the USA to the FBI. ???
-@USAmario

Logical that there is a database already with your fingerprints, but nothing I have seen via Google indicates that you can get a background check without the fingerprint card.

I saw on the blog of Mr. H who is a famous worldwide facilitator with an abbreviated company name of NC, recommends that prospective expats get multiple sets of fingerprints at the same time, so that if you need another background check in the future, you will have another card ready to mail to the FBI or a "channeler".

Also, I have read that you can't download the form, but need the stiff cards. I remember buying them off eBay many years ago and had them shipped to Ecuador.

I experienced this process while in Bogota in the spring of 2022.

You can pay the FBI online, they will email you a receipt and instructions.

You print out the email, it has to be included with your fingerprint cards.

You can download the correct fingerprint card as a PDF from the FBI website.

You go to a stationery store in your neighborhood  ( a 'papeleria') and have them print the form on card stock.  I suggest ten copies on a light card stock.  Five to practice, five to send to the FBI.

You either have to find someone to fingerprint you or you have to do your own fingerprints (I did my own).

The form has space for the name of the official who fingerprints you, it implies that you need an official, but you don't.  It also has boxes for hair color and eye color.  The FBI has special codes for these colors, the codes are explained on the FBI website.

If you will make your own fingerprints, find a supplier of proper black ink made specifically for taking fingerprints.  The little bottles of black ink sold in tiendas and papelerias is tempting but it won't work, the prints will be horrible and your efforts will be wasted.  I can't remember the name of the supplier I used, but I paid them by consignation directly to their bank and send them a photo of my receipt, and they shipped the ink to me right away by Servientrega delivery service.

Once you practice a few times and get good at it, make about 5 good cards to send to the FBI.  Sending multiple cards increases your chances astronomically that the FBI will find at least one good print for each of your fingers/thumbs.

Each card has ten boxes; if you make a mistake in any box, you can cover inside that box with a white address label sticker trimmed down to size.  The FBI calls these stickers "pads".  There is a maximum number of pads you can use in each print box, I forget the number but I think I remember a maximum of 2 pads per box, check the FBI's instructions / tutorial on their website.

Use good international mail to send the receipt email and your cards to the FBI.

Check the FBI's website status tool to see their receipt of your prints and their progress on your application.

If the FBI is able to process your report, they will send it to you by PDF and mail I believe.   I don't know if they have a mechanism to send a paper report to Colombia.   My results were sent to an agent in the USA who then sent the report to get the federal apostille. Then the entire thing has to be translated to Spanish by an authorized translator recognized by the Cancilleria.  The translator does not have to be in Colombia, but has to be a translator that has the proper certificate issued by a Colombian Judge or an appropriate Colombian university.  After the translation, the translator should provide you with a copy o a valid credential certificate which is included with the original documents and the translations.

Some translators will work off of scans only, mine required to see the original documents before releasing the translations and the certificate to me.  Check with your translator first, keeping in mind that if your translator requires to see the original documents, you will have to deliver them personally to the translator or use a delivery service in Colombia and different, more expensive arrangements if your translator is outside of Colombia.   Best practice is to find a certified translator who lives in your city.

So my USA agent received the FBI report, sent it to get the federal apostille, scanned everything that needed scanning, sent the entire package to me by email so that my translator could start working right away, and then had to ship the originals to me by international mail, important, because the Cancilleria accepts digital uploads for the visa process, but retains the right to demand original documents at any time and if they make such a demand, it can be under a very short deadline.  I received a demand with a ten day deadline in my case.

That is my experience of the "do it yourself" version of obtaining the FBI report, apostille and certified translations and recovery of the original documents in order to make a Colombian visa application.

I hope this information is helpful!

P.S.  the 'EDIT' function is not working for me.  When I press 'edit' I get an eternal progress indicator, I don't see any text in the edit window.

So, I will add to my post about FBI report process here, to say:  If you need electronic scans of any documents, make sure you or your agent scans each page of any document *before* sending the document to be apostilled.  In some apostille processes, the document gets punctured and the apostille is then affixed as top page of the document by special fasteners and sometimes even a ribbon.  After that, it is not always possible to see each page of the document without destroying the attachment connections.  If that happens and you try to scan all document pages anyway, and if any scan has missing data or is illegible because of the attached apostille, your translator may refuse to translate the scanned page and may insist on waiting to receive the originals from you.     

Is the FBI report required?

For some visa types, but not all, the Cancilleria asks for what they call a "Police report." as mandatory, to be submitted at the very start in your visa application.   I believe this means a federal level report when such a report is available.  Other visa agencies say it depends on the country and the circumstance.  You will have to determine this yourself or from a trusted professional.  In my case, I did not believe a state-level report would be accepted, since a federal report (FBI) is available, any my professional agent gave a clear advice to use the FBI report.

Now the important part:   Even if your visa type does not require the "Police report", you should have that report done, apostilled and translated and have the originals in your possession anyway, because the Cancilleria can demand to see the report at any time, under short deadline  (10 days in my case), and of course there is no way to obtain such documents , apostilled and translated with originals in hand, in a 10 day period.   When I applied for a visa in 2022, there was no requirement to include such a report, but sure enough, the Cancilleria demanded it, and I could not comply, so my visa application expired on its own without prejudice or penalty to me.  I lost the study fee and all the time and effort put into making the application, but lost nothing else, and I was free to submit another application right away if I so chose, and did not have to leave the country within 30 days or wait six months before applying again from outside Colombia.    That's my 2 cents, I hope it helps anyone making a visa application, and especially those making an application where the "Police report" is not explicitly demanded as part of the initial application document set.

Planning on moving to Bogota next year and hearing about this FBI Background check 🤷‍♂️

if told to provide the document does it matter if it was issued a year ago or do I need to

get one a month before entering Colombia? In other words is it time sensitive?

thanks

Planning on moving to Bogota next year and hearing about this FBI Background check 🤷‍♂️
if told to provide the document does it matter if it was issued a year ago or do I need to
get one a month before entering Colombia? In other words is it time sensitive?
thanks
-@Alicea915

Hello Alicea915,

As of the Spring of 2023, the FBI background check is time sentitive and the clock starts from the issue date of the report itself.  That date is printed right on the FBI report.  Any other dates invovled, such as the date of the apostille or the translator's date of translation do not matter. 

If your visa type requires the FBI report to be submitted with all other documents at the time of your application, the FBI report cannot be more than 90 days old.

Remember, even if your visa type does not require the FBI report, the Cancilleria can demand one of you at any time.   They can also demand to see the originals, even after you have sent the digital copies to them on their website.   So I suggest that you assume that they will ask you for it, even if the online information does not state it as a requirement.

I applied for a pensionado visa in 2022, there was no requirement to include the FBI report.  My application was put into a "more information required" status and they asked me to provide the "police report" within 10 calendar days.   Of course, it is not possible to get the report, the apostille and the translations in a ten day period, so my application expired automatically.   

Also, at least on the pensionado visa application, there is a question "have you ever been in a court or judicial procedure" or something to that effect, I don't remember the exact language of the question.  If you answer "yes", you have a small space (a hundred characters or so?) to explain.   I suspect that if you answer "yes" for any reason, the "yes" answer might be the flag that will cause the government to demand the "police report" from you.

Please don't take my response as authoritative, always research the latest decretos/resoluciones (laws) yourself and/or ask a professional visa representative before doing anything.  And best luck!!