FBI background check + Apostille services for Venezuelan visas

Step 1: Get the FBI Identity History Summary

Start with the FBI electronic Departmental Order (eDO) request at FBI electronic Departmental Order request. Complete the request, pay the FBI fee, then submit fingerprints. The FBI FAQ currently lists the fee as $18 and says the cost is the same whether requested by mail or electronically.

You have three practical request paths: direct FBI electronic request, an FBI-approved Channeler, or mailing fingerprints to the FBI under the FBI's current instructions.

• Direct FBI electronic Departmental Order (eDO) request: use FBI electronic Departmental Order request, complete the request online, pay the FBI fee, then submit fingerprints electronically at a participating USPS location or mail a fingerprint card.
• FBI-approved Channeler: use a private company listed by the FBI to collect fingerprints and submit electronically on your behalf.
• Mail fingerprints to FBI: use the mailing instructions from the FBI request confirmation or current FBI website. Do not invent or reuse an old mailing address.

Step 2: Submit fingerprints

Inside the United States, fingerprint options include participating USPS fingerprinting locations, local police or sheriff offices, private fingerprinting companies, and FBI-approved Channelers. USPS says fingerprinting is available only at participating Post Offices.

Outside the United States, local police or fingerprinting providers may be able to ink fingerprints on an FBI-compatible card. U.S. embassies and consulates generally do not guarantee fingerprinting services; check the specific post.

• Bring government ID.
• Confirm the provider can produce fingerprints acceptable for FBI Identity History Summary submission.
• Use a current, legible fingerprint card if mailing fingerprints.
• The FBI accepts FD-1164 cards on standard white paper stock, but hard-copy submissions must meet FBI quality criteria.
• The FBI says it does not return fingerprint cards.

Step 3: Receive the FBI result

Electronic submitters receive an electronic response and may choose a hard copy by U.S. First-Class Mail. The FBI FAQ says all results, foreign and domestic, are returned by U.S. First-Class Mail when mailed.

• Do not expect FBI expedite processing. The FBI says it does not expedite requests.
• Electronic submission is generally faster than mailing fingerprint cards once fingerprints are received.

Step 4: Apostille the FBI report

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document for use in another country.

An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document, and the apostille comes from the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.

For a mail-in request, include completed Form DS-4194, the FBI Identity History Summary, the fee, and one self-addressed prepaid return envelope. The State Department currently lists the fee as $20 per document. For mailed requests, pay by check or money order payable to U.S. Department of State. Do not send cash or credit card information by mail.

Do not notarize the original FBI federal document before sending it for a federal apostille. The State Department warns that notarizing the original federal document can make it invalid for authentication.

• List the country of use on Form DS-4194.
• For in-person requests, State Department instructions say payment is by credit card, debit card, or contactless payment, not cash, check, or money order.
• For mail-in requests, there is no normal online payment link in the official instructions; use check or money order.
• Use trackable mail. State says processing starts when the package reaches the Washington, D.C. office, not when it reaches the Sterling postal facility.
• Use USPS or UPS for the return envelope. State says it does not return documents by FedEx.

Step 5: Send Caracas Research final documents

Email Caracas Research with digital versions of the FBI background report and the Apostille Certificate after you receive them.

• Attach the FBI Identity History Summary.
• Attach the U.S. Department of State Apostille Certificate.
• Use clear PDF scans or official digital copies where available.