Best fingerprinting service in NYC area?

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa 🇵🇹
, ,
1

I’ve used the following services to get fingerprinted for the endless FBI background checks this process seems to entail:

  • USPS - the location nearest me no longer offers this service and it appears that the location near Rockefeller Center is the last one to offer it, but the reviews are terrible
  • One Police Plaza - I used them once and it was pretty efficient. HOWEVER, they get booked months in advance. You used to be able to call them to request an earlier an appointment, but the last time I tried that they asked me why I needed them so quickly and my Portuguese visa application didn’t meet their definition of urgent…
  • The courthouse in Journal Square, NJ - This one is a bit of a wildcard. I went there last time and they were friendly and I was able to book an appointment pretty quickly. The problem is it’s a bit of a schlep for me and they use old-school ink fingerprints, which I’ve been told the FBI sometimes rejects. Plus, it’s sort of messy. I’d rather not have to go back there, but I might do it anyway.

I’m curious if there are any other Nomadgate New Yorkers here who have advice?

2

Look into UPS stores. They serve as LiveScan locations for multiple channeling services like Biometrics4all

1 Like
3

What do you mean the reviews are terrible, you come you do it and you leave within 15 minutes, why do you care about reviews?

1 Like
4

I used https://applicantservices.com/ they contract out to hundreds of location across the country, you can check if there is one near you: Online Live Scan Fingerprinting Services for Background Checks. Find Live Scan Locations near you.

5

A few things from our last go-round fingerprinting someone with old dishpan hands:

  1. USPS uses a slap 4 system that is kind of cumbersome. The first place we tried the employees collectively couldn’t get the system to work. The second place we succeeded in getting all but the pinkies in green on the 9th or 10th try, but they were rejected by the FBI before we started the car to go home.

  2. A number (i.e., the first four we tried) of the FBI channelers on the FBI website either (a) say they are not suitable for apostilles or (b) not suitable for visa applications. But all four wanted SSN and DOB to create an account before they told you that. No numbers to call.

  3. We had ink prints done by the local sheriff’s office. These are the normal cards, so not a slap 4 system. The first two cards were rejected by the FBI, so we threw out the third.

  4. We dug out the firm who did our electronic versions a few years ago, and they were successful with their slap 4 system. So, all in all, four $18 requests to get one successful.

1 Like
6

We used the USPS location downtown in the financial district, 90 Church Street. It was fast and easy.

8

Thanks for your response. How long ago was this? Last I checked, that location wasn’t listed as doing fingerprinting.

9

We used the USPS at Rockefeller Center a few weeks back. It was fine, no complaints at all. We arrived at noon (when the fingerprint desk opens), we put our name on a handwritten list, they called us after about a 20 minute wait, we each did the scans, and all the scans were accepted immediately by the FBI. We had the full background checks back from the FBI within a couple hours. Easily worth the $50 cost if Rockefeller Center is at all convenient to you.