GUARANTEED ACCEPTABLE AT THE FBI

Rosa Photo + Fingerprinting Mobile Unit

also known as "Immigration Information Services"

WE'VE MOVED TO 420 NORTH 16th STREET!

VERY IMPORTANT--

We have permanently relocated the Rosa Photo-and-Fingerprint Van

to the 400 block of North 16^th Street,

between Callowhill and Spring Garden Street.

Thus, we are now parked in front of the 4-storey parking

garage at 420 North 16^th Street, Phila PA 19130.

Our hours remain the same:

weekdays 8 to 5, plus Saturdays 12 noon to 5.

As always, walk-in is fine, and appointments are needed only for immigration applications.

For more info, please do call us at 215.432.5158.

And we certainly hope to see you soon!

also known as "Immigration Information Services"

420 NORTH 16th STREET -- PHILADELPHIA, PA 19130

the famous "Rosa Photo Van" parked at the curb for 34+ years

at the corner of 16^th and Callowhill Streets

215-432-5158

e-mail:  intlfam2003@yahoo.com

NAVIGATING THROUGH THIS ENTIRE WEBSITE

1.    Who we are and what we do

2.    Our fees

3.    Our location and how to get there

4.    Our hours:  regular hours and special holiday hours: 

5.    Our fingerprint cards or yours ???

6.    Entering your data on a blank fingerprint cards

7.    VIP Fingerprinting at Your Location

8.    Other services we offer:  passport, visa and immigration photography; Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Background Checks (your report ready in 10 minutes); custom-made ID cards for businesses; Infopass appointments to enter USCIS (immigration) offices, e-filings of US immigration (USCIS) forms, US immigrant visa "green card" lottery submissions; and translations (English-Spanish-Romanian)

9.    Contact us

1.  Who we are--what we do and what we don't do:

For the last 33+ years, the famous "Rosa Photo" mobile unit or "Van" has been parked at the curb, at the corner of 16^th Street and Callowhill Street (zipcode 19130).  We are right next to Philadelphia Community College, and we are around the corner from the new Philadelphia Police Headquarters (housed in what was the historic Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper Building) and the Philadelphia School District Building; we are also quite near Philadelphia City Hall, the Convention Center, and the entire Museum District along Benjamin Franklin Parkway.  And from our Van, we serve the public with FINGERPRINTING; PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE CRIMINAL RECORD CHECKS; PHOTOGRAPHY for passports, visas, professional licenses and gun permits; ID CARDS for small businesses; IMMIGRATION SERVICES (such as USCIS on-line filings, Visa Lottery, and Infopass); and TRANSLATION SERVICES.  **If you have a Disability or Handicap or Special Need that prevents you from stepping into our Van, then we will bring our equipment out, onto the curb at 16th Street for your convenience.**

Rolled fingerprinting on FBI fingerprint cards

We do rolled FINGERPRINTING on FBI standard FD-258, FD-1164 and SF-87 fingerprint cards (or the equivalent issued by various Federal agencies and State governments) for almost any purpose, including professional license applications (such as law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, banking, insurance, casinos and marijuana dispensaries), Identogo criminal background checks for child-care and home-care positions, other pre-employment screening (for almost all State and Federal Government positions, including Peace Corps), criminal record checks, FINRA, college enrollment (especially for Jefferson University, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Rowan University, and for various other schools), CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) enrollment, name-change applications, expungements, gun license ("carry permit") applications for various states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as for the ATF), applications for immigration into such countries as Portugal, Canada and Australia, and applications for passport renewals for such countries as Ethiopia and South Africa.  Our work is recommended by Philadelphia City Hall, the Philadelphia Police, and several other police departments.

We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!                     We guarantee that our fingerprint cards are acceptable at the FBI!

We are a private company, and thus we are not a law enforcement agency.  On the other hand, the Philadelphia Police Department does not fingerprint individuals unless they have been arrested.  If you have instructions that your fingerprints "should/must" be taken by a police department, please don't stress out about this!  There is no way for government agencies all over the USA to know that our local police departments are not set up to help you. Moreover, not a lot of government agencies in other parts of the USA, or overseas, are aware that the FBI will always accept fingerprint cards that are properly prepared by qualified private vendors like us.  

IN FACT, WE OFFER A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE THAT OUR FINGERPRINT CARDS WILL NOT BE REJECTED BY THE FBI BECAUSE WE, AS A PRIVATE COMPANY, HAVE PREPARED THE CARDS.

And if you have instructions from a state like California or Florida or Arizona that gives the impression that you supposed to submit your fingerprints by live-scan, do not despair-- in fact, all states still have a mechanism to accept FD-258 fingerprint cards from "out-of-state" applicants, and we will help you with any special accompanying paperwork.

WE ALSO GUARANTEE THAT NO ONE WILL REJECT OUR CARDS BECAUSE THEY WERE "POORLY PREPARED."  MOREOVER, IF YOU HAVE "PROBLEMATIC" FINGERTIPS, WE WILL WORK WITH YOU TO GET THE BEST FINGERPRINT IMAGES POSSIBLE.  BE CAREFUL and BE AWARE--IF YOUR FINGERPRINTS ARE NOT CORRECTLY PREPARED, THE FBI WILL REJECT YOUR FINGERPRINT CARD, AND YOU WILL LOSE VALUABLE TIME!

We do not submit your fingerprint card(s) to the FBI.  After we have fingerprinted you, you should send the card(s) to whomever you have been instructed, or else we are happy to give you instructions on how to register yourself on the FBI website and then send the card(s) directly to the FBI (and if you do, you will normally receive your official FBI report in 3 to 5 business days).

"Live scan" a/k/a "digital/electronic" fingerprinting ???

We do not do "live scan" (also called "digital" and "electronic") fingerprinting, but we can certainly help you even if you are under the impression that you are "required" to use live scan.  Here are several scenarios:

a.    If you need a Pennsylvania clearance (for instance, from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, or the Pennsylvania Department of Education, or the Pennsylvania Department of Aging) and you already have an Identogo fingerprint registration, then we are willing, for a $15.00 fee, to fingerprint you (on a standard FD-258 FBI fingerprint card).  You will then mail the fingerprint card to Identogo, which in turn will scan the card (instead of scanning your fingers!).  Whether you fingers are "live-scanned" or whether your traditional fingerprint card is scanned, either way, Identogo will send your data to the FBI, and then your FBI clearance will be released within the same timeframe (usually 8 days).  Moreover, if you haven't registered yourself for the Identogo screening process, then we will register you as a courtesy, just before we fingerprint you (although you will still be responsible for paying Identogo's registration fee).

b.    If your goal is to be approved for a professional license in any state other than Pennsylvania (if, for instance, you are a nurse or a physician who needs a license for such states as California, Florida and Arizona), and if it is "recommended" to you--or even if you are "instructed"--to get "live scan" fingerprinting, then don't waste your time looking for the impossible, and here is why:  "live scan" is not generally available to the public in Pennsylvania, and it almost certainly is not available to you, because vendors here that do "live scan" are set up to process submissions almost exclusively for Pennsylvania licenses and clearances.  In reality, licensing regulators in all states are aware that "live scan" is not generally available in Pennsylvania, and that therefore you will need to use their special procedures to submit standard FD-258 FBI fingerprint cards, whereupon you (or if absolutely necessary, we) will send the fingerprint card(s) to whatever address you are instructed to use.  Depending on which state you are dealing with, you might want to mention that we are recommended by many local police departments, including the Philadelphia Police Department, and in addition that our fingerprints are, by law, accepted by the FBI. 

c.    If you are making an application for any purpose, in any state, where you "need" (or if you think you need) fingerprint processing via Identogo, please keep in mind that Identogo normally allows you to bypass their appointment booking system, and instead be fingerprinted (by us, for instance!) on a fingerprint card--and indeed if you do the Identogo fingerprinting with us, you will have no delay in getting an appointment, because we do not require appointments:  walk-ins are always fine.  Thus, for instance, you do not have a wait for more than a month to get an appointment at a New Jersey live-scan location in order to complete your New Jersey Firearms Licensing application, because we can fingerprint you today, with no appointment.  And as a courtesy, for free, we will register you on the sometimes confusing Identogo website, although you will still have to pay Identogo's registration fee(s).

d.    In general, if "live scan" equipment cannot record a good set of images for you, or if you or your client is bedridden and thus cannot go to a "live scan" location, or if someone is Disabled/Handicapped in some fashion, or has a Special Need, and thus cannot use "live scan" equipment, or if you have found a "live scan" location that has impossible hours or is just too far away or is in the wrong neighborhood, then we are ready to help--we will work with you to overcome any challenge!  For instance, we have been hired many times by the Department of Human Services of the City of Philadelphia to fingerprint bed-ridden individuals in their own homes, and we also work with various hospitals in the area to fingerprint their bed-ridden patients.  **If you have a Disability/Handicap or Special Need that prevents you from stepping up into our Van, then we will bring our equipment out, onto the curb at 16th Street for your convenience.**

e.    We normally do not do fingerprinting for US immigration purposes, because the USCIS has its own in-house fingerprinting  system.  However, if the USCIS Application Support Center's "live scan" doesn't work for your fingers, then the USCIS can authorize us to fingerprint you "the old fashioned way."   More importantly, if your immigration attorneys want you to be checked out by the FBI before they file paperwork for you with USCIS, or if you yourself want to make sure, before you file immigration paperwork, that no criminal record exists for "someone" with your same name, birthdate and/or fingerprints, then we are most happy to help you and your lawyers.

f.    Finally (!), we regret to inform you that we cannot help you with fingerprinting for three very, very specialized clearances:  Act 235, TWIC and Hazmat.  Sorry!

We do not "lift" latent fingerprints from objects touched by someone's hands

 

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2.  Our fees:

We charge $20 (tax included) per fingerprint card, if you visit us at our location.  This is the least expensive price for fingerprinting in the area!  If you need "live scan" fingerprint services in conjunction with Identogo Pennsylvania clearances, then we offer the very special price of $15.00 (complete), including on-line registration plus the actual preparation of one fingerprint card (or two cards, if a second is needed because of "bad fingers"), but you will still have to pay Identogo's normal processing fee (usually $25.25), and then you will send to Identogo the fingerprint card(s) that we have prepared for you.

If we are going to visit you at your business or at your home, the final cost you pay will be a reflection of our travel and the extra time involved.  Thus, our minimum fee is $250 (for travel to a business office or a private home in Center City Philadelphia), and this total fee includes up to 12 fingerprint cards.  For a small business with several employees, this pricing can be quite effective, once you take into account the time and the money that will be saved by your staff not having to travel anywhere, or to spend productive time away from your location!  (click here to read more about VIP Fingerprinting at Your Location)

All fingerprint clients receive a discount on photography if it is done along with your fingerprinting.  Thus, although the normal cost for two passport or visa photos (2" x 2," or 35 x 45 mm (for a Schengen visa), or 50 x 70 mm, or any other special size you need) is $15.00, the special cost for fingerprint clients is only $10.00.  And the cost of four such photos is reduced to $15.00, down from our normal price of $20.00.

We accept almost all forms of payment except credit and debit cards.  In other words, we welcome cash, money orders, business checks (payable, by the way, to "EAB Trust"), as well as Venmo and CashApp.  ALL PRICES QUOTED INCLUDE TAXES.

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3.  Our location and how to get there:

We are not in a building!  Rather, for the last 33+ years, we have been in a large Mobile Unit or Van or "lorry," parked near the northwest corner of North 16^th and Callowhill Streets, right next to Philadelphia Community College.  In fact we are parked on the west side of North 16^th (which has traffic northbound only), between Callowhill and Spring Garden Streets.  (If our van would have an address, it would be 420 North 16^th Street, Phila PA 19130.)  There is excellent on-street parking (paid at on-curb kiosks) on North 16^th Street, on Callowhill Street and on Spring Garden Street.   Our Van has big signs on top that say “ROSA PHOTO and FINGERPRINTING.”  If this is confusing, think of a "lunch truck" without food, or a library-on-wheels, or even a blood-mobile!  Here is a map showing where we are in Center City, as well as a photo of our glorious Van, along with our even more glorious manager, Ms. Barbara Jackson:

and...

Our Manager, Miss Barbara Jackson--the best fingerprinter in Philadelphia--at the back of our high-tech
photo-and-fingerprint mobile unit, located in Center City at 420 N. 16^th St, Philadelphia PA 19130
(between Callowhill and Spring Garden Streets, right next to Philadelphia Community College)

Directions To Our Location, at 420 North 16th Street, Philadelphia PA 19130

We are right next to Philadelphia Community College, and we are around the corner from the new Philadelphia Police Headquarters (housed in the historic Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper Building) and the Philadelphia School District Building; we are also quite near Philadelphia City Hall, the Convention Center, and the entire Museum District along Benjamin Franklin Parkway.  There is abundant parking (paid via on-the-curb kiosks) on North 16^th, on Callowhill, and on Spring Garden Streets. 

IF YOU ARE DRIVING, WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO THE BROAD STREET EXIT OF I-676 (the Vine Street Expressway)

WE ARE ALSO VERY CLOSE TO SEVERAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION LINES, FOR INSTANCE:

SEPTA Bus No. 2, which runs north on 16^th Street, has a stop at the southeast corner of 16^th and Callowhill Streets.  Once you disembark, just look straight ahead (the same direction that the bus is traveling), and then walk north some 90 feet (towards Spring Garden) to our Van, with its big signs that say "Rosa Photo."

SEPTA Market-Frankford subway-elevated train line, or any SEPTA underground trolley line:  use the 15^th Street stop; exit onto street at 16^th Street and JFK Blvd., walk north 5 short blocks to Callowhill Street (or take SEPTA Bus No. 2 that runs on 16^th Street to the corner of Callowhill Street), and then walk an additional 90 feet northbound (towards Spring Garden Street) to our Van.

SEPTA Broad Street subway train line:  use the Spring Garden Street stop; walk westbound along Spring Garden (in the direction of Community College) 2 blocks until the corner of North 16^th Street, then turn left (southbound) and walk 200 feet along 16^th Street towards Callowhill Street, where you will see our Van, with its big signs that say "Rosa Photo."

 

If You Are Driving: a Driving southbound on I-95, from northeast Philadelphia or Bucks County:  use Exit 22, which includes the Callowhill Street Exit (and make sure that you stay in the very far right lane of this four-lane exit!).  At the base of the exit ramp (which becomes 2nd Street if you were to continue driving south towards Market Street), make a right turn at the first traffic light into Callowhill Street, and then proceed westbound on Callowhill for five minutes to the corner of 16th Street, and then (finally!) turn right into 16th  Street, whereupon you will see our truck, with its large “Rosa Photo” signs, parked on the left, or west, side of the street.  There is abundant on-street kiosk-paid parking on Callowhill, 16th and Spring Garden Streets.   Driving northbound on I-95, from Delaware, Delaware County, PHL Airport and the Walt Whitman Bridge:  use I-95 Exit 22 for Callowhill Street. This is also the exit for I-676 ("Vine Street Expressway").  PLEASE NOTE:  this is a “left exit” and it has two lanes; you should use the right-most lane, because you will immediately exit onto Callowhill Street itself.  Then proceed westbound on Callowhill for five minutes to the corner of 16th Street, and then (finally!) turn right into 16th  Street, whereupon you will see our truck, with its large “Rosa Photo” signs, parked on the left, or west, side of the street.  There is abundant on-street kiosk-paid parking on Callowhill, 16th and Spring Garden Streets.   Driving eastbound on the Schuykill Expressway I-76, from the western suburbs (including traffic coming from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension):  use Exit 344, which is the exit for I-676 East towards the Benjamin Franklin Brdige; this is the exit right after the Spring Garden Street Exit.  This “left exit” has two lanes, and you should stay in the right lane because you will then exit at the Broad Street / 15th Street Exit.  Stay in the far right lane of that exit ramp, because at the top of the exit ramp, at the first traffic light, you will make a right turn into 15th Street (southbound), and then proceed to the next corner, whereupon you will make a right turn into Spring Street.  Take Spring Street westbound one block until it ends at the next corner (at 16th Street), whereupon you will make an obligatory right turn and proceed northbound on 16th Street, past Vine Street, and then past the intersection with Callowhill Street, whereupon you will see our truck, with its large “Rosa Photo” signs, parked on the left, or west, side of the street.  There is abundant on-street kiosk-paid parking on Callowhill, 16th and Spring Garden Streets.   Driving westbound on the Schuykill Expressway I-76, from south or southwest Philadelphia (including New Jersey traffic using the Walt Whitman Bridge):  use Exit 344, which is the I-676 Exit; this is the Exit after the Exit for Chestnut and Market Streets.  After entering I-676, you will travel eastbound from approx. 1 mile, and you should stay in the far-right lane because you will then exit at the Broad Street / 15th Street Exit.  Stay in the far right lane of that exit ramp, and at the top of the exit ramp, at the traffic light, make a right turn into 15th Street (southbound), and then proceed to the next corner, whereupon you will make a right turn into Spring Street.  Take Spring Street westbound one block until it ends at the next corner (at 16th Street), whereupon you will make an obligatory right turn and proceed northbound on 16th Street, past Vine Street, and then past the intersection with Callowhill Street, whereupon you will see our truck, with its large “Rosa Photo” signs, parked on the left, or west, side of the street.  There is abundant on-street kiosk-paid parking on Callowhill, 16th and Spring Garden Streets.   Driving from New Jersey via the Benjamin Franklin Bridge:  use the right or middle lane while on the Bridge, and then move over little-by-little to the right on the bridge's very lengthy off-ramp; proceed straight to the very first traffic light, and make a right turn into the left traffic lane of Franklin Street.  Proceed north one short block to the next corner, which is Callowhill Street, where you will make a right turn and proceed westbound on Callowhill Street for five minutes to the corner of 16th Street, and then (finally!) turn right into 16th  Street, whereupon you will see our truck, with its large “Rosa Photo” signs, parked on the left, or west, side of the street.  There is abundant on-street kiosk-paid parking on Callowhill, 16th and Spring Garden Streets.

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4.  Our hours:

Except for special help with US immigration forms (see below), you will never need an appointment--just walk in!  Fingerprinting usually takes 10-20 minutes.  Photography takes 5-15 minutes.  But if you do want an appointment for any purpose, just call ahead to 215.432.5158--we will accommodate you in any way that we can.  And please do call us if you need special help because of any Disability/Handicap or Special Need.

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5.  Our fingerprint cards or yours ???

If you have been given a fingerprint card by your company, or by a government agency, then you (and we) should use it, but if it gets damaged, do not despair--we have plenty of blank FBI fingerprint cards (forms FD-258, FD-1164 and SF-87) to serve as replacements, and we provide these FBI cards for free!  By the same token, if you need for your fingerprinting to be "done yesterday," and the fingerprint card(s) for which you are waiting still have not arrived, then often-times we can use our blank generic FBI cards instead.  And there is no extra charge when we use our cards instead of yours!   

In addition, if you have been given the option of downloading a pdf image of an FD-258 fingerprint card, and then printing it out on regular white "typing paper," then please think instead about using the free FBI fingerprint cards that we provide, because fingerprint ink adheres best on real FBI cards, and we want your finished fingerprints to look perfect!

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6.  Entering your data on a fingerprint card

Please allow us to help you enter your data on your fingerprint card--we really know how to do it, and we have a complete list of the official abbreviations that the FBI accepts for such items as hair color, eye color and race.  But if you want to do it yourself, at least please PRINT (in other words, use Block Letters, and not cursive) and please use Black Ink (in other words, don't use blue, green or red ink).  Here is an image of one of the three fingerprint cards that we use, namely an FD-258:

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7.  VIP Fingerprinting at Your Location

If it serves your needs, we will come to your business, or even to your home, to fingerprint you or your staff.  This is especially useful if you are too busy to travel, or if you are home-bound or Disabled/Handicapped or if you have a Special Need, or if your staff is so large that it is not economical to send so many people to us, when we can instead come to you.

Although we charge $20 per fingerprint card when you come to our location, on the other hand, if we are going to visit you, there will be a minimum charge that takes into account the time consumed for our travel.  In fact, our minimum fee (for travel to locations within Center City) is $250, whereas we charge $300-$350 for travel to certain "remote" areas of Philadelphia, and even more for distant suburbs.  In fact, we have fingerprinted groups in Newark NJ, in Scranton, Harrisburg and York PA, in various towns in northern Maryland, and all over the state of Delaware.

On the other hand, our minimum fee includes the cost of preparing a certain number of fingerprint cards.  For instance, if your business is in Center City (where our minimum charge is $250), we include the preparation of up to 12 cards.  Thus, if you need 2 fingerprint cards each for 6 individuals, or 4 cards each for 3 people, etc., then you would be paying us $240 if your staff travelled to us, but only $10 extra if we came to you.  And, for orders of 13+ cards, the "minimum travel fee" would not come into play at all:  for instance, if you need 15 cards to be prepared, then we simply would charge you a total of $300 (15 x $20).  For a small business with several employees, this pricing can be quite effective, once you take into account the time and the money that will be saved by your staff not having to travel anywhere, nor lose time away from your office! 

Here's another example:  if your business is located in the far-western suburb of Paoli, and if you need, let's say, 25 fingerprint cards to be prepared, then you would simply pay us $500 for the entire project, with no travel charge, taking into account that our minimum fee for travel/time would have been $440 (based on your location), but that fee would have included the preparation of up to 22 fingerprint cards. 

We accept all forms of payment except credit cards and personal checks.  In other words, we accept cash, money orders, business checks (payable, by the way, to "EAB Trust"), as well as Venmo and CashApp.  OUR PRICES INCLUDE ALL APPLICABLE TAXES.

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8.  Other services we offer:

Photography for US Passports and for Passports of other countries--including photos 2" x 2", also 35 x 45 mm, 50 x 70 mm, etc.

Photography (all sizes) for visa applications for people traveling to other countries, including photos for Schengen visas (35 x 45 mm)

Photography for USCIS applications and petitions (immigration to the USA)

Photography/fingerprinting for gun licenses / "carry permits" for several states (including Pennsylvania and New Jersey) and for ATF

Design and preparation of plastic ID cards for businesses

Pennsylvania State Police on-line filings for criminal record background clearances (results are back, and in your hands, within 10 minutes)

USCIS e-filings (while you wait) for certain US immigration applications and petitions, in particular to renew a "green card" (I-90), and to replace a lost certificate of naturalization/citizenship (N-565)--but please call ahead to book a (Required) appointment for these time-consuming services! 

US immigrant visa lottery ("Green Card" lottery) on-line filings, including the required photos

Infopass appointments for all USCIS (immigration) offices

Translations to-and-from English, Spanish and Romanian

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DISABLED CLIENTS:  **If you have a Handicap or Special Need that prevents you from stepping up into our Van, then we will bring our equipment out, onto the curb at 16th Street for your convenience.**   Please call 215-432-5158 for details.

 

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HOW YOU CAN EASILY CONTACT US:

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goodbye, y'all, out there in cyberspace--come back and visit soon !
best regards from Barbara, Robert, and Howard

xxxxx

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^©2022 EAB Trust/Rosa Photo
last update 19 May 2023

SLAVA UKRAINI !!!