Without a Trace

My Police Certificate came today. It includes a nice hologram, a photograph of my good self embedded into the certificate and lots of other clever anti-forgery measures too. All completely worthless as the company, ACRO, will only give you a certificate if you tell them which embassy you need it for. Once they know this, all they have to do is to tell the Australian, Canadian, New Zealand or US Embassy that you have applied and are clean, cleanish or dirty (and, dear reader, I suspect they do). No need for those expensive-looking touches to the certificates (except that they like to make you think you're getting your money's worth).

As for the meat of the certificate itself...
(I know, I know, you're dying to find out)

If they can't find out anything criminal about you, then you are not declared "innocent" or maybe having "no criminal record", they just type two words onto your certificate, in upper case: NO TRACE.

Not exactly a glowing reference.

Still, I have the certificate (or, in my case, two certificates as I paid extra) so that's one less thing to worry about and, as the whole process is hurrying along at a staggering pace, I want to get as much stuff ready as I can - I don't want to kill the momentum (even though that's not a crime worthy of a Police Certificate).

Certifiable

Today I sent off for my Police Certificate (ACRO). I paid £35 (+ £5 for a second copy).

I got one of my friends who is in the police to fill in the part of the form where they confirm my identity - they also signed the back of my passport-sized photo (you really do need a lot of those photographs for this whole process).

This will be used during the NVC process and should also be needed for the interview at the embassy (which is why I've paid for a second copy - just in case).

I've decided to order a second Birth Certificate too (there are many companies that will do this for you online) - just to be on the safe side. You can't have too much supporting documentation.

ACROvation

I thought I'd take a little break here, grab a soda (see, I'm picking up the lingo already), and address something that's caught my attention.

We know that the main I-130 processing may take a long time but we're trying to be patient and prepare for what's to come.

Most things can be prepared in advance and there are various certificates to get ready for the upcoming forms but at least one is only valid for six months.

This is the "Police Certificate". As this is are a paper certificate to state that you have no criminal record it is, by definition, out of date the moment it's issued. In other countries, this doesn't seem to be an issue - in the UK, surprise surprise, it's different. This quote from the ACRO (ACPO* Criminal Records Office) form itself makes a great point: "Embassies or High Commissions will usually require you to produce a Police Certificate, which has been issued less than six (6) months before your visa interview."

This is actually quite tricky. The average waiting time for the interview (in London) from the moment you get your NOA2 (The second Notice of Approval that your I-130 generates) is currently 200 days (according to this site). But I have to send the police certificate to the NVC (National Visa Center (in the US)) as evidence with my DS-230 form. This means that my certificate stands a chance of being out of date by the time I go for my interview.

Which is why I can't get one now - I'm just going to have to play a waiting game...

(as they're only £35 I really don't mind shelling out for a second one just before the interview if that's all that's needed to get me to my wife...)



*Yes, the "A" in ACRO is, itself, an acronym. It stands for the "Association of Chief Police Officers". I know, I know...