FBI background check from Mexico: electronic route or paper cards

How to request your FBI background check while living in Mexico: who can use the electronic route, when fingerprint cards must go by courier, how long the federal apostille takes and how recent the report must be.

What the FBI report is and why people ask for it

The FBI background check (officially the Identity History Summary) is a search of U.S. federal records based on your fingerprints, not your name. That is why filling in a form is never enough: every request needs a fresh set of fingerprints sent along with it.

People living in Mexico usually need it for something outside Mexico (a work visa, residency in another country, an international adoption) or for a process in Mexico that asks for it explicitly, such as some school hiring, adoption files or employer requirements. If your goal is temporary or permanent residency with the National Migration Institute ↗, the INM generally does not ask for an FBI check; even so, confirm your office's requirements before you spend time on it.

Two ways to request it from Mexico

How the request is sent depends mainly on your nationality or immigration status in the United States.

Electronic route: U.S. citizens and green card holders

If you are a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, the request can be sent electronically through an FBI-approved channeler. Your fingerprints are taken in Mexico and submitted with your details; the result comes back in digital form.

Paper cards by courier: everyone else

If you are neither a U.S. citizen nor a permanent resident (for example, a Mexican national who lived or studied there), the usual route is to send the FD-258 fingerprint card on paper directly to the FBI, together with the application form and payment.

The federal apostille: only the Department of State

The FBI report is a federal document. That means only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it, through its Office of Authentications. No Secretary of State in Texas, California or any other state can do it, and neither can a Mexican authority: a U.S. document cannot be apostilled in Mexico.

See the full guide on the FBI report apostille and the page for the U.S. federal authority.

If the report will be filed with a Mexican authority, after the apostille you will almost always need a translation by a perito traductor that also covers the text of the apostille.

How recent does the report need to be?

There is no single rule, but most authorities accept reports that are 3 to 6 months old. Some count from the date the FBI issued the report; others from the date of the apostille or the translation. Ask which date they use and, if you can, get it in writing.

To avoid running out of time, plan backwards: start from the date you must file and subtract the time for the apostille, the translation and shipping. Start too early and the report may expire before your appointment; start too late and it will not arrive.

Every request needs new fingerprints

The FBI does not keep a card for later use and does not accept copies of prints taken for another purpose. Each new request needs a new set of fingerprints, even if you requested the same report a few months ago. If the FBI rejects the prints for quality, they must be taken again as well.

To get a good set of prints:

Checklist before you start

How we can help

We coordinate fingerprinting in Mexico, sending the request to the FBI by the route that applies to you, the federal apostille and the translation. See the details on our FBI background check service or contact us for a quote based on your case.