If you have ever lived, worked, or studied in the U.S. and returned to Pune, an unexpected request for an FBI background check can leave you wondering how to get it from Pune. Such requirements are becoming more common with international employment, immigration processes, and Pune’s growing Global Capability Centres for U.S. companies.
This blog explains what an FBI background check in Pune involves, where to get fingerprinted, how the FBI submission actually works, and what happens after your report is issued.
An FBI Background Check, officially called the FBI Identity History Summary, is a federal record showing any criminal history linked to your fingerprints across the United States. It is fingerprint-based, issued only by the FBI's CJIS Division, and is different from any state, local, or Indian background check document.
To learn more about FBI Background Check, read our detailed guide on the FBI Background Check process, Identity History Summary, apostille, and fingerprinting.
If you live in Pune, do not confuse an FBI background check with an Indian Police Clearance Certificate. It is a different document from the one you may already hold from an earlier passport application.
| FBI Background Check | Indian Police Clearance Certificate | |
| Records covered | Your history within the United States | Your history within India |
| Issued by | The FBI's CJIS Division | Indian police or the Passport Office |
| Based on | Fingerprints | Fingerprints or name, depending on the request |
Note: If an authority specifically asks for the FBI document, the Indian PCC will not satisfy that request, and submitting the wrong one resets the clock.
If you are in Pune and someone has asked you for an FBI Background Check, it is almost never something you requested for yourself. It usually comes from an employer, a visa office, an immigration authority, or a licensing board, and it almost always traces back to the time you actually spent living or working in the United States.
| Common Situation | Why Is the FBI Background Check Requested? |
| Immigration and permanent residence applications | Many countries require an FBI Identity History Summary as your US police certificate if you resided in the United States for 6 months or more. |
| Visa applications | Embassy and consulate authorities may require a federal criminal history check as part of the visa review process. |
| Registering with a US broker dealer under FINRA | Financial regulators require fingerprint based federal criminal history verification. |
| Applying for certain professional licenses abroad | Some licensing boards and immigration authorities require a federal level check rather than a local or state level one. |
| Sponsoring a spouse or family member for a US visa | US immigration verifies the sponsor's record as part of the file. |
You have two ways to apply for an FBI background check. In the first, you handle everything yourself, from fingerprinting to receiving your results. In the second, you work with a coordinator who supports you through each stage of the process.
Option 1: Do-It-Yourself
Every detail from the fingerprint card to the final apostille is your responsibility.
Step 1: Complete the Applicant Information Form
Download the form from the FBI website. Every entry must match your government ID exactly.
Step 2: Get Your Fingerprints Taken
Download the FD-258 card and print it at the correct size on good-quality white paper or use an original FBI fingerprint card. You need rolled and flat impressions of all ten fingers. In Pune, finding a location that offers ink fingerprinting on the correct FBI form takes effort. Humidity affects ridge clarity, so print quality depends heavily on technique.
Step 3: Submit Payment and Documents
Include the $18 fee as a certified check or money order payable to the Treasury of the United States. You can download the Credit Card Payment Form to complete your payment. Once your payment is done, you can physically mail all your documents along with the fingerprint card to the address FBI CJIS Division, Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306, USA. You handle international shipping and customs yourself.
Also, you can apply through the FBI eDO portal, where you have to mail the fingerprint card to the above-mentioned address.
Step 4: Receive Your Result
You will receive either an Identity History Summary or a No Record response by mail. Processing takes several weeks. If prints are rejected, the FBI notifies you to submit a new fingerprint set.
Step 5: Request an Apostille If Needed
For Hague Convention countries, mail your FBI report to the U.S. Department of State with Form DS-4194 and $20 per document.
Address: 44132 Mercure Circle, PO Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166, USA. Processing takes five weeks or longer.
Option 2: Working with a Coordinator
If you prefer a simpler experience, working with a professional coordinator can save time by managing fingerprinting, document handling, and submission guidance through one point of contact. Before choosing a provider, make sure they offer the following:
Fingerprint Cards and Application Guidance
Choose a coordinator that provides the correct FD-258/ FD-1164 fingerprint cards and guides you through the documentation required for your FBI application.
Verify Their Fingerprinting Capability
Confirm their associate is trained in FBI-compliant ink fingerprinting. In Pune, where humidity affects ridge clarity, the technician should know how to adapt the technique to avoid rejection.
Confirm They Handle Shipping to the U.S.
Check whether they courier your card from Pune to their U.S. office. If not, you arrange international shipping, customs, and tracking yourself.
Understand the FBI Submission Chain
Ask who submits to the FBI and how. Some submit directly; others route through a U.S. office. Clarify whether they have a US-based office that handles submission to the FBI on your behalf.
Ask About Apostille Coordination Upfront
If your FBI background check will require an apostille, certified translation, or document authentication, choose a provider that can coordinate these services together to avoid managing multiple agencies.
Note: Coordinators do not directly apostille official government documents and do not perform apostille services on behalf of any government authority. All apostille and authentication requests are submitted to the designated competent government authority on your behalf.
| Stage | Applying Directly |
| Fingerprinting in Pune | A few days to arrange an appointment |
| Card reaching the FBI | 1 to 2 weeks of international transit |
| FBI processing | 1 to 3 days (citizens/Green Card) or 2 to 3 weeks (non-citizens), once received |
| Apostille, if required | 5+ weeks by mail, per the State Department's own estimate |
Adding it all together, most citizens and Green Card holders needing an apostille are realistically looking at 6 to 10 weeks from start to finish. Non-citizens should plan for longer, largely due to the FBI's own extended processing window for that category.
The FBI publishes its own list of the most common reject reasons, and it's worth reviewing before your appointment rather than after a rejection letter:
If your card is rejected twice specifically for quality reasons, a formal FBI Name Check process exists that substitutes name-based verification for fingerprints. This is typically filed by the requesting agency rather than the individual applicant and comes with its own strict filing window after the second rejection.
1. Fingerprinting in Pune
Four things happen before an associate ever leaves your side, and each one solves a specific problem you'd otherwise have to solve yourself.
| Process | How does it work? | How does it Benefit You? |
| Book an Appointment on Globeia's SmartForm | You submit your details, your purpose, your preferred location in Pune, all in one place | No phone tag, no back-and-forth emails just to lock in a time |
| FaceID Verification | A secure link confirms you against the ID you submitted, before anyone is scheduled | Your identity is settled before the visit, not discussed out at your door |
| Mobile Fingerprinting | Trained associate arrives at your home, office, or campus with the correct card already in hand, FD-258, FD-1164, whatever your case needs | You don’t have to get the form and also you don’t have to travel through the busy roads of Pune. |
| A Letter of Authentication, Issued to You | You receive a record of the appointment itself, with an encrypted QR code, confirming your fingerprints were collected under a verified identity check | Proof the process happened correctly, in case anyone downstream ever asks |
Note: The Letter of Authentication is issued by Globeia India and is not issued by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the RCMP, the FBI, or any government authority.
2. After the Appointment
Your completed card doesn't stay in Pune. It travels to Globeia Inc. in the USA, where it's prepared and submitted to the FBI, which then reviews it independently and issues the Identity History Summary on its own terms.
You're not the one figuring out international mailing, customs, or which U.S. address your application needs to reach.
3. Get the Results
The report is issued once the FBI completes processing. Depending on your applicant type and delivery preference, you may receive it digitally, by physical mail, or through courier support.
4. Apply for Apostille if Required
Globeia coordinates your apostille request through the U.S. Department of State on your behalf, so you do not need to mail documents to a second government office yourself. This applies only to Hague Apostille Convention countries. Non-Hague countries require authentication and embassy legalization instead.
Already have your fingerprints taken?
If you already have a fingerprint card, you don't need to start over. Share it with us and we will review it to confirm the card is not damaged, the impressions are clear, and the form is correct for your destination authority, so it does not get rejected after international mailing.
Once verified, it is securely mailed to Globeia Inc., where it is submitted to the FBI on your behalf.
An FBI background check in Pune looks like one document. Still, it means fingerprinting, courier, FBI processing, and sometimes an apostille, all inside a validity window that starts ticking the moment the FBI issues your result.
Your fingerprints are the only part that happens locally, and Globeia's trained associates handle exactly that, right at your doorstep in Pune. Everything past that runs on the FBI's own schedule; no provider changes it.
Start before the clock does.
