The Department of Security has introduced a new online system for the procurement of federal police records, which includes a process to pay the government fee on the portal. Previously, applications for police records were submitted on a different online system and would usually take up to 60 days to process after the related appointment. The new process is expected to reduce processing times to approximately one to five business days if the applicant’s information is available via the electronic records of the Department of Security (down from 45 to 60 business days under the previous system); or to 10-45 business days where the applicant’s identification number is inactive and/or if background checks are needed. Note that police certificates must still be apostilled or legalized, which takes an additional 5-15 business days, depending on the destination. The online system is likely to continue to be updated. We will report on related developments.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
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