Time frame for response from FBI

So,
the consular in D.C. told me that they are waiting for a response from one of the departments to review our background check. She (the agent I spoke with) said that they are waiting for a response and if it doesn't come within the time-frame, it is considered an afirmative response (once the time frame has expired). - Does anyone know what is the set time frame for the FBI to respond to a background check?
I have read of many different time frames, but thought that someone could help me know a bit more.
I know that patience is my biggest friend, but I can't seem to stop the wheels in my head from turning...

Thanks,
Jeff in Colorado-

By Jeffrey on Jun 8, 2005, 22:47 in Visa & paperwork.

gstern says on Jun 9, 2005, 09:06:

not enough information You were talking to a consular officer in Washington, DC? At the office of visa services? Are you asking for a visa for a spouse/fiancee or are you going through the naturalization process?

If it is a visa, I had never heard of a time-frame being imposed. And what do you mean by an "affirmative response" anyway? Does that mean that they affirm that the person you are petitioning IS in their criminal database?

My wife went through this and for us it took 3.5 months to clear a "name-check hit" which essentially means that someone with the same or similar name and similar age was a match and they needed to do additional processing to clear them. In our case a follow-up full-set of fingerprints was required to assure the FBI that it was not a match.

I did a ton of research during this process including talking to a number of immigration attorney's who both said the same thing. Typically these are cleared in 6-8 weeks though there are cases that drag on for 18 months. The reason is simple: if the FBI has a lot of information on the criminal in their system, then it is easier for them to match fingerprints or other data and clear the match. If not, if they simply have a name of a known criminal and maybe a photo, or if much of the data resides in paper files spread across FBI offices around the country, then it is a very time-intensive, labor-intensive process to clear.

The following links contain some great information you will want to review:

http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/SecurityNameChecksAndAdministrativeReview.html
http://www.wolfsdorf.com/articles/Consular_Processing_20050524.htm
http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/garrity071003.htm

Good luck!

Greg

william_andrew_channell says on Jun 10, 2005, 11:56:

What do you need the FBI background check for anyway?

lpdiver says on Jun 10, 2005, 12:03:

The FBI background check is typically called for if your name matches a bad guy. They need to verify that you are the good guy.

T

"cook some rice!"