FBI Background Check for Card Renewal

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa
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Hi everyone,

Has anyone recently gone through the process of getting an FBI background check or police clearance for a Portuguese residence card renewal?

It seems the process has become more complex over the past year or so, and I am trying to understand the best (and fastest) way to get it done. It’s for my son, who is currently studying in California, so he needs to do this from the U.S. If anyone has tips on expediting this, I would be grateful.

Thanks

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Fastest and simplest way for him to get a background check is to go to any approved FBI channeler and get a live scan of his prints, which they then send directly to the FBI. He will likely get a background check back by email that same day.

Here’s a list of the approved channelers:
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/compact-council/list-of-approved-channelers

Otherwise some post offices do it as well, and possibly cheaper, but I haven’t tried that route.

For an apostille, given he’s in California and can’t walk into the State Dept in DC in person, the fastest way is to use a third party service. Email them the pdf of the check and they take care of the rest.

I’ve used https://fbiapostilleservices.com a couple of times before and they are quick and reliable. Generally 2-3 weeks, and they will send it anywhere you want. You can do it cheaper if you mail it in to the FBI yourself, but that can take 5+ weeks.

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  1. There is no such thing as a police clearance for this purpose–it is FBI or nothing.
  2. The fastest and cheapest way is the post office. You have to register on line first, and then be prepared to visit 3 or 4, because (i) the machine won’t boot up, (2) the only person who knows how to do it is off that day (iii) the only person who knows how to do it actually can’t remember how to do it, (iv) other reasons. But once it is submitted you should have the certificate by the time you get back in your car.
  3. Not everyone on the approved channelers list will submit for apostille purposes. A lot of them are actually state-level employment routes. Check first. Others not on the list will be able to do it, too.
  4. The expediters are the best route for an apostille if you can’t do it in person. The certificate is only valid for 90 days, so if you go the mail in route (6 weeks, plus one week to get it to Portugal), you only have a week of validity. Plan on using the 2 week service, which is fairly reliable, and work backward from your renewal appointment. Be prepared to queue up several certificate requests.
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If one resides full time in Portugal, and has done for 5 plus years, of what relevance is a FBI check for a renewal?

Surely, a Portuguese background check would be appropriate?

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For GV renewals, even those resident in PT, the primary applicant is “or” and the dependent applicants is “and”. No idea why.

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I just did this again 3 weeks ago in Los Angeles at a USPS. They are taking slightly longer than before a few hours rather than a few minutes to get the confirmation and then access to the PDF of the background check. I downloaded the file and immediately uploaded it to Monument Visa. They got the apostille done in 2 weeks and I had them DHL it directly to my attorney in Lisbon.

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Unfortunately not just a USPS problem. I’ve been to FBI channellers who don’t know how to get their own machines to take prints. The worst are the scanners set up in some UPS stores. Avoid those guys at all costs. The places that only do prints are usually pretty quick and efficient.

Correct, but to be clear, that’s not the core purpose of FBI channelers. They are private companies authorized to take digital prints and send to FBI for background checks and receive the reports back. Some offer end-to-end services including apostille submissions to the State Dept, but there are plenty of other options for that part of the process.

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thanks everyone for the advice. Has anyone used Globia or any other such end to end service for fingerprinting and apostille? I am trying to reduce the work that my teenager has to do with a heavy load of classes and research. Would love a recommendation for an end to end service.

Also, is there an easy way to get Single Status Certificate in LA?

Thanks

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I haven’t used Globia, but if your son is in LA, I once used Certifix Live Scan in Santa Monica and they were friendly and efficient. He’ll get the FBI report by email in a few hours, then he can just upload the pdf to an apostille service to take care of the rest. Or you can do that part for him if he’s busy.

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Forget the Post Office - their system is horrible, useless. Go to a channeler that knows what they are doing - it’s basically the same cost as the Post Office. Not sure about the Apostille process given that the Government is shut down.

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I never use USPS unless I absolutely have to. Monument Visa has been my go to for almost 5 years now for State Dept Apostilles. For background check, I either get an Identogo fingerprint with electronic transmission (about $115) and send the PDF to Monument Visa via email or we do an Identogo fingerprint scan and get 5 cards printed and Fedex to Monument to be the handler and apostille service. Doing an Identogo scan to printed card lessens the chance of the fingerprint card getting rejected.

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