Good station to get Fingerprints (for FBI)?

[Trennet]

(Pertaining to FBI records request for residency)

I've heard people complain that their fingerprints, taken here in Argentina, were rejected by the FBI.

1. Could anyone recommend a police station where they do a good job of taking fingerprints? Perhaps I should visit a couple and include 2-3 different sets of fingerprints?

2. What is the procedure when asking for fingerprinting? Is it a common service or are they doing me a favor that I should be tipping for? Is this the correct way to ask: "Hola. Puede ud tomar mis huellas digitales con este formulario? Tengo que enviarlo a la FBI para mi aplicación de residencia."


Thanks!

 

[Trennet]

I got it done today.

I went to the station at Cabildo 232 (Comisario 31). I lingered at the front desk for 5 minutes and then someone asked what I wanted. I said fingerprints (huellas digitales), but my Castellano is not great so they misunderstood and whipped out a Certificado de Domicilio. I politely explained that what I needed were fingerprints to prove that I had no criminal record (antecedentes criminales) so I could apply for residency. They asked me to sit and wait for a bit.

After 15 minutes of waiting, a senior officer came out of the back and looked at my printed fingerprint cards. He ushered me to the back, through a labryinth of hallways and doors, through a small room packed with 8 gigantic gorilla officers watching a soap opera, and into a dingy little sliver of a room where a mess of ink and newspare lay on a table. I half expected to see, in the darkness of the other end, shackles connected to the wall and a car battery below them.

The senior officer patiently went through the fingerprinting twice (I wanted 2 to be safe), which took about 10 full minutes. I would have offered him a $50 peso tip for the help because it is quite a hassle for them. Unfortunately, I didn't have cash on me because I was going to Citibank atm to stock up afterwards.

For the "officer signature" section, they used a special stamp that fit perfectly and included his name + Comisaria 31 and then signed over it.

 

[ghost]

You really should tip them. It's a service and it's outside of normal duty and you interupted their soap operas.

 

[gsi16386]

I got it done today.

I would have offered him a $50 peso tip for the help because it is quite a hassle for them. Unfortunately, I didn't have cash on me because I was going to Citibank atm to stock up afterwards.

Tip them $50??? 5 --- 0 ?? Oh boy, how about a 10 peso bill....don't ruin it for the rest of us expats, then they would be expecting that every time we get our fingerprints. ;-)

I got mine done next to Plaza Italia, but had to get the fingerprint card from the Embassy. Was pretty painless...

 

[Hop]

I went to the station in Plaza Italia but they made up some BS about something being wrong with my passport which needed to be corrected with a special stamp from the US embassy before they could do my prints. So I just got them done at a different station where they didn't even ask for any ID at all!

 

[MizzMarr]

I'm not so sure about tipping. I've had it done a couple of times here. They have the equipment there, it's the only place in the city you can get it done, and it's part of their job (if not routinely asked for). It only takes about 10 minutes to get it done... why tip?? Certainly nobody seemed to act like they were going out of their way in my experience. Do you tip the police if they come to your house on a call?