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Author: washingtonexp
Getting a business-related visa to England can be very difficult. Below is an account of an obstacle that our team at Washington Express Visas encountered and over came for one our clients.
Our client had an important meeting set up of international computer scientists in London. The meeting was set up at short notice. One very interested potential participant is a Russian National researcher, Mike*, a PhD in computer science. Mike works at a University of Michigan. He works with two other Russians at this university. All three have green cards. His two colleagues have visas to the United Kingdom that are still valid. He needs to get a visa fast. Approval of an English Visas usually takes 3 to 4 weeks. Peter needs to have his visa process expedited. Peter has to perform many different task in order to complete his visa application: biometrics, detailed forms, an complete an appointment at the English Embassy. He completes all the necessary requirements to get his visas approved quickly, and it is approved. Then something strange happens – the visa is rescinded. Mike attempts to find out formally what happened. But informally, the British agent was told that this person seemed to me looking for a national to marry so that he could get citizenship, thus they rescinded the Visa. How that all came together in the rejection/the rescinding of his visa to the United Kingdom highlights how difficult the mysterious getting a visa sometimes be. Our visa team was able to find out what the objection was to the approval and worked with the proper authorities to get the Mike’s visa approved in time for him to make his meeting in London.
That is why you need a skilled team of experts to assist you in navigating the complexities of obtaining your visas. Our team has the experience and relationships to assist in obtaining an expedited visa. With Washington Express Visas expedited visa and passport services, our professional visa and passport services staff will have one of our specially trained messengers take your visa and passport processing documents to the appropriate Embassy or agency and get your documents processed properly for less than traditional visa and passport processing services charge.
* Names and work have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients. The blog is to used only to illustrate a point.
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Travel Visas for Business or Pleasure
If you are planning on traveling to the United States, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must generally first obtain a visa, either a non-immigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to the United States port of entry and request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to enter the U.S.
The “visitor” visa is a non-immigrant visa for a person that desires to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1), for pleasure, or medical Treatment (B-2) or a combination of both (B-1/B-2).
Business Visitor Visas (B-1)
For example, if the purpose for your planned travel is to consult with business associates, travel for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention or conference on specific dates, settle an estate, or negotiate a contract, then a business visitor visa (B-1) would be the appropriate type of visa for your travel.
Pleasure, Tourism, Medical Treatment -Visitor Visas (B-2)
If your planned travel is pleasure in nature, including tourism, amusement, visits with friends or relatives, rest, medical treatment, activities of a fraternal, social, or service nature, and participation by amateurs, who will receive no remuneration, in musical, sports and similar events or contests, then a visitor visa (B-2) would be the appropriate type of visa for your travel. If you are going to the U.S. primarily for tourism, but want to take a short course of study which is recreational (and not for credit towards a degree), and the course is less than 18 hours per week, this is permitted on a visitor visa. As an example, if you are taking a vacation to the U.S., and during this vacation you would like to take a two-day cooking class for your enjoyment, and there is no credit earned, then this would be permitted on a visitor visa.
Visa Waiver Program
Travelers coming to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less from qualified countries may be eligible to visit the U.S. without a visa if they meet the visa waiver program requirements.
Currently, 35 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program, as shown below:
| Andorra | Iceland | Norway |
| Australia | Ireland | Portugal |
| Austria | Italy | San Marino |
| Belgium | Japan | Singapore |
| Brunei | Latvia | Slovakia |
| Czech Republic | Liechtenstein | Slovenia |
| Denmark | Lithuania | South Korea |
| Estonia | Luxembourg | Spain |
| Finland | Malta | Sweden |
| France | Monaco | Switzerland |
| Germany | the Netherlands | United Kingdom |
| Hungary | New Zealand |
Source for this information is State.Gov.Org.
At Washington Express Visas our visa, passport, document translation and legalization specialist can answer any questions or comments and guide you through the complex visa and passport rules and regulations. You can reach us at (202) 393-3030.
US passport holders don’t need a visa when traveling as a tourist in the countries who are signatories of the Schengen Agreement.
The following countries are members:
| Austria | Belgium | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia |
| Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary |
| Iceland | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg |
| Malta | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal |
| Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland |
The Schengen Agreement allows transit between countries in the Schengen area without border controls. People can travel – including US nationals – without visas and other border controls in the Schengen Agreement area.
Be careful! The European Union is not the same as the Schengen Area: Ireland; United Kingdom; Romania; Bulgaria; and Cyprus are part of the European Union but are not a part of the Schengen Area. They have their own national visa requirements and border controls.
At Washington Express Visas our visa, passport, document translation and legalization specialist can answer any questions or comments and guide you through the complex visa and passport rules and regulations. You can reach us at (202) 393-3030.
The visa processing agents at Washington Express Visas make the following simple suggestions to make your visa processing easy and trouble free:
- Make sure your passport is signed! Your passport is not considered valid unless it is signed. Check the identification, picture page of your passport.
- When applying for a visa, make sure that you have visa pages available – the Amendments and Endorsements pages at the end of your passport can not be used for visas.
- When applying for visa processing, ensure that you have a current recent photo and the photo (or photos are required for some visas) are passport size pictures. Many visa applications are rejected because the picture is not the right size or the face is not scaled properly. It’s always safest to get real passport photos at local photo shops or chain pharmacies that offer passport photo services.
- Some people staple extra photos to the back cover of their passport in case a photo is misplaced or lost during handling in the visa application process.
- Fill out your name, home address, phone numbers, and location of where you can be reached in your trip, and also include emergency contact addresses and phone numbers. Passports get lost and misplaced and without this information getting your passport back can be a long process.
- First make the copy on a copy machine and then scan the copy and email your Passport’s ID pages — on U.S. Passports, the 2 pages with Signature, Photo, Issue date, Expiration Date, Passport #, etc. Some scanners pick-up the holograms and distort pictures, colors, etc. If that happens some Embassies may not accept the distorted version as a copy of a passport.
If you have any questions or need assistance in processing your visa for your next trip, our profession visa and passport staff can answer any questions you have.
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Document Legalization is a Four Step Process
Document Legalization refers to the four-step process in which documents are certified as authentic/genuine prior to being used in countries that are not signatory to the 1961 Hague Convention (Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents). These steps are mandatory for having the document recognized as legally binding and bona fide by foreign governments, agencies and corporations.
The four steps are as follows:
- 1st step: the document must be notarized by a notary public
2nd step: the document must be certified by the Secretary of State that the document was notarized in
3rd step: the document must be authenticated by the U.S. State Department Authentication Office
4th step: the document must be legalized by the consular office of the embassy of the country that the document will be used in
Wikipedia defines Document Legalization:
In international law, legalization is the process of certifying a document so a foreign country’s legal system will recognize it. The process is used routinely in international commerce.
The procedure for legalizing a foreign document varies from country to country. The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents has supplanted this procedure with the use of an apostille for countries that are signatories to that convention.
For purposes of document legalization, countries are divided into two groups: those that are signatories to the Hague Convention and those that are not. Signatories of the Convention have agreed that Consular authentication of documents is no longer required and in most cases, execution of the documents by a Notary Public is sufficient.
Countries that have opted to not participate in the Hague Convention of 1961 typically require that documents be authenticated by the foreign affairs ministry of the originating country (eg in the United States, the Department of State, in Washington DC). Once authenticated by the foreign ministry the documents then need to be reviewed and approved by the consular staff of the country in which the transaction is to occur. Typically, this process must be completed before an international shipment of goods will be allowed entry into a non-participating country.
Paul C. Hofford
Operations Manager
Washington Express, LLC
12240 Indian Creek Court
Beltsville, MD 20705
301-210-3500
www.washingtonexpressvisas.com
Document Legalization refers to the four-step process in which documents are certified as authentic or genuine prior to being used in countries that are not signatory (adjective form, not noun form) to the “Hague Convention”. There are four standard steps needed to have a document recognized as legally binding and bona fide by foreign governments, agencies and corporations. These steps are as follows:
- The document is notarized by a public notary in the State of origin or in Washington, DC.
- The document is then certified by the Secretary of the State in which the document was notarized, or the DC Office of Notary Commissions & Authentications if notarized in DC.
- The document is then authenticated by the US Department of State Authentication Office (they authenticate the certification by the State or the District of Columbia
- The document is then legalized by the consular office at the Embassy of the country where the document will be used.
- An important additional step is often required for specialized or technical documents — agricultural, commercial, economic, energy, military and scientific documents need additional consular review and approval.
- Washington Express Visa Pays all fees on your behalf.
Countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention and need to have full Document Legalization are the following:
| Afghanistan | Algeria |
Angola |
| Bahrain | Bangladesh | Benin |
| Bolivia | Brazil | Burkina Faso |
| Burma/Myanmar | Burundi | Cambodia |
| Cameroon | Canada | Chad |
| Chile | China | Congo Republic |
| Congo Democratic | Costa Rica | Cote d’Ivoire |
| Cuba | Denmark | Egypt |
| Eritrea | Ethiopia | Ghana |
| Guatemala | Guinea | Haiti |
| Indonesia | Iran | Iraq |
| Jamaica | Jordan | Kenya |
| Kuwait | Kyrgyzstan | Laos |
| Lebanon | Liberia | Libya |
| Macedonia | Madagascar | Malaysian |
| Mali | Mauritania | Morocco |
| Myanmar/Burma | Nepal | Nicaragua |
| Niger | Nigeria | Oman |
| Pakistan | Paraguay | Peru |
| Philippines | Qatar | Rwanda |
| Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Sierra Leone |
| Singapore | Sri Lanka | Sudan |
| Syria | Taiwan | Tajikistan |
| Tanzania | Togo | Thailand |
| Tunisia | Turkmenistan | United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
| Uganda | Uruguay | Uzbekistan |
| Vietnam | Yemen | Zambia |
| Zimbabwe |
Apostille refers to the two-step process in which documents are certified as authentic or genuine prior to being used in countries that are signatory to the “Hague Convention”. Signatories to The Hague Convention require that documents have: one, been notarized; and two, that they are then certified. Government/Federal documents need to be authenticated by the originating countries’ foreign affairs ministry (in the US, the Department of State in Washington, DC).
Countries that are Signatories to the Hague Convention and require an Apostille are the following:
| Albania | Antigua |
| Argentina | Armenia |
| Australia | Austria |
| Azerbaijan | Bahamas |
| Belarus | Belgian |
| Belize | Botswana |
| Bulgaria | Columbia |
| Croatia | Cyprus |
| Czech Republic | Dominican Republic |
| Ecuador | El Salvador |
| Estonia | Fiji |
| Finland | France |
| Georgia | Germany |
| Greece | Honduras |
| Hong Kong | Hungary |
| India | Italy |
| Iceland | Israel |
| Japan | Kazakhstan |
Paul C. Hofford
Operations Manager
Washington Express, LLC
12240 Indian Creek Court
Beltsville, MD 20705
301-210-3500
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Washington Express Visas staff processed my visa application quickly and correctly. I would recommend Washington Express Visas to anyone who needs to travel and needs their visas expedited.
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Letter From the CEO
Since 1981, Washington Express has been serving our loyal corporate and professional clients in the Metro DC area with pride for courier service, documents certification, visa processing, Capitol Hill line standing, and rush international shipping. Our goal is to always exceed expectations in order to show our dedication to professionalism and efficiency to those who have used our services.
Globalization has steadily increased demand on the part of clients for services related to international business and travel. With the addition of Andrew (Smiley) KatambaLujjo to our staff as our new resident to work alongside Paul Hofford, our longtime resident expert, we are expanding our Visa, Passport, and Document Legalization processing to be called Stop Shop” for our clients’ for visa processing, passport renewal, and document translations, and authentication.
As we become a true “Global Village”, the demand for international visa and document processing is growing dramatically. Our large courier fleet, our experienced customer service and dispatch team, and our real time, command and control logistics software have enabled us to perform at a high level of speed, accuracy, and dependability for our customers, our to provide for the timely processing of documents through the various Embassies and at the U.S. Department of State.
As the world economy again picks up steam, the demand for documents for both domestic and international business travelers will grow even faster than before and has created a flood of American passports. Likewise, we have seen significant new demand from corporate clients for visas and document processing related to the new emerging industrial economies in the world: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the other ASEAN block countries.
In addition to corporate and professional firms, private individuals also have a growing requirement for the same services and we are now getting orders from across the nation and from other countries, via the internet from those who need passport and visa services that can only be obtained in Washington D.C. We have upgraded our website and have added more experienced professionals who understand how to handle these sometimes complex transactions and to accommodate these needs. We know what you need for visa processing and document certification and we can get it for you efficiently and effectively.
Gilbert Carpel / CEO
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Expedited Service
