It can be difficult to navigate which type of Apostille is the right one to use. For those who do not know what or why an Apostille would be used…an Apostille is a form of authentication issued to documents for use in countries that participated in The Hague Convention Treaty of 1961. The Apostille seals and signatures on public documents makes sure they can be recognized in other foreign countries that are also members of the Treaty.
For Non-Federal documents, each individual secretary of state for each respective state has the responsibility of issuing the correct seal. For Federal documents, those Apostille seals need to be issued from the Department of State. It can be complex to figure out whether you need the Apostille seal from the Department of State or if it needs to come from the offices of the secretary of state from an individual state.
Washington Express Visas can be helpful in navigating this process and figuring out the type of Apostille you will need dependent upon your need. The types of documents that require an Apostille from the US Department of State are:
- Naturalization Certificates
- FBI Background Checks
- INS Documents
- IRS Documents
- Certificates to Foreign Government
Our services at Washington Express Visas are incredibly valuable as it relates to this process because getting an Apostille from the US Department of State can take lots of time and money. The processing can take up to 3 business days and that is if you are able to be there in person. If you need to travel in, you will need to be able to stay in the area for when your documents are ready for pick up. Expedited process can happen for emergency situations but often require an appointment to be made in advance. The best way to understand processing timeframes is to check with the Office of Authentications in advance. Mailing them in can be even more complicated and lengthen the processing time significantly. There is also not a good system to know exactly where to mail them which is why we would recommend taking advantage of our services. Our professionals will make sure to submit your request in person to the correct office which will expedite your Apostille services.
