Yes, ok I'm willing to get a criminal check done. I have nothing to hide. However, what I can't seem to find out from anyone (I even called the Korean Consulate in New York and they didn't know) is what kind of back ground check is required. I called my local State police and they listed off a half a dozen possible reports they could make within 6 to 8 weeks. Then there is the FBI and commercial companies that do background checks for profit. So which one is it?
Or is just anything that states "No criminal record" acceptable?
Perhaps the American criminal check system is seriously flawed...I'm having the "sinking feeling" described below.
This might be a side point, but I found the following while trying to find an answer:
National Criminal Background Checks: Myths, Realities & Resources by Jackie Walters
"Revised 07 November 2007. Anyone who has been asked to conduct a "national criminal background check" knows the sinking feeling that comes from facing the requestor's confident assumption that such a request is reasonable, possible, inexpensive, and fast. When a Google search brings up dozens of hits containing words like comprehensive, instant results, free, and all 50 states, it is easy to see where that confident assumption comes from. Where to start to explain all the caveats, cautions, costs, and prohibitions?
No central repository exists for federal, state, and local ... criminal records.
Seven facts contradict the myth that a national criminal background check is even possible.
No central repository exists for federal, state, and local (i.e., county, parish, municipal, etc.) criminal records.
Not all states have automated systems for collecting data from reporting agencies and local jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2003, 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had automated criminal history information systems, but only 25 of these were fully automated.The content, accuracy, quality and timeliness ofthe data vary considerably among the states.
No federal law imposes standards for collecting, indexing, searching, and using criminal record data. Among the 50 states, standards vary for collecting the four types of criminal records -- arrest, criminal court (federal, state and local), corrections (federal, state and local), and state criminal repository records.
On-site searches can be costly. Conducting an on-site county-level criminal court search in every location where an individual has lived for the previous seven years (the investigation industry's standard time frame) could be prohibitively expensive.
States are increasingly restricting personally identifying data in original public records. Responding to concerns about privacy issues and identity theft, states are passing laws restricting the inclusion of personally identifying data, such as birth dates and Social Security numbers, in public records. Researchers and commercial vendors will no longer be able to link data across record types (judgments, liens, tax, property, etc.) using personal identifiers to verify identity and establish relationships.
A variety of federal and state privacy statutes limit permissible use of and/or access to data on individuals. Any end user can purchase a search from a proprietary vendor or a government-maintained Web site. However, users are responsible for using the data in accordance with permissible purposes as defined by several federal statutes, notably the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (15 USC § 1681), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 USC §§ 6801-6809), the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (18 USC §§2721-2725), the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC §552a), and corresponding state statutes. The most commonly-listed permissible purposes are pre- screening, consumer-driven transactions, fraud detection, and law enforcement. To insure compliance, some companies, such as ChoicePoint and Accurint (Lexis), credential end users for certain products before issuing a subscriber agreement.
So-called "national" databases are inaccessible to non-governmental users. The National Crime Information Center is maintained by the FBI and limited by federal law to law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is also maintained by the FBI to provide information on people desiring to purchase firearms. Access is restricted to agencies authorized by the FBI."
So I wish South Korea good luck....If the USA can't keep track of its own citizens I don't see how the Koreans expect to do this for Americans applying for E2 visas.