You have to have a tax representative in PT. They charge for that and to deal with their version of the IRS.
I can’t open it can you send it another way
Might try another browser or you can email me directly.
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I am told that if you select the “snail mail” service for the FBI background check and don’t open the envelope this is acceptable as well. Of course, the issue here is the length of time is longer. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other I guess.
I have never heard that and would doubt it to be valid.
What I have heard recently is that the SEF is granting some leniency if your formal apostille is not received in time, and waiting would pass some deadline (3-month duration for valid documents, an important birthday etc) and will accept an explanation letter stating the apostille will be added later. I suggest speaking with your PT lawyer.
Just as background - You will get an almost immediate result from the FBI check after you submit your fingerprints. You have the option to get the same result via snail mail, in addition. This is not on any special paper nor does it have a stamp or anything that the pdf emailed to you has.
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I just received my Background check back. I made a mistake. I sent it on August 18th, not July. So took me 8 weeks, not 12. My lawyer at Atlantic Bridge said that that as long as I send her the receipt showing the August 18th date and the delay was due to the US government, SEF will be fine with the delay. Thankfully, I saved all that stuff.
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Thank you for sharing your update on the Dept of State turnaround time. That is consistent with what I was told by them over the phone recently. I am hopeful to get ours back, then translated, and then off to our Lisbon lawyer in time for filing of the online application within 90 days of the FBI letter date. However, it is good to know your findings about the possible SEF flexibility.
I am very confused on what requires translation. I spoke to the consulate in SF and they told me that the FBI document is standard and does not require translation but they could do it anyways.
I’ve never heard that the translation needs to be apostilled. Doesn’t really make sense. Otherwise it seems to be on target.
In my experience, older documents were fine but the apostille and certified translation has to be within 3 months. Same timing for FBI background check.
Correct - the translation should be by a certified translator but does not need to be apostilled. I’m not even sure how you would do that or who with. All my documents will have the document itself, an attached apostille and then a certified translation of both the document and the apostille page.
A couple of helpful links from the US Dept of State on the subject of apostille.
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Larry’s great summary assumes you use an apostille service for the FBI Background check apostille. If you prefer to send directly on your own, here is some information I was able to find. They ask what country you are using for, so If you specify a country that is part of Hague convention of 1961 , they will apostille the document.
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Complete Form DS-4194 according to the instructions.
If you read the form instructions literally, you must send in a separate cover letter DS-4194 for each family member. You should send separate payment for each to be safe. -
Mail the DS-4194 to the SoS office
Requesting Authentication Services
Per multiple sources, taking about 8 weeks to get apostilled FBI check returned, as of 11/1/2020. Some people have said closer to 5 weeks so there must be a somewhat random process to how incoming requests are handled.
Quick status update - my FBI background check apostille finally came back! Emailed to the company (Monument) on 9/28 and we received back on 10/28 (4 1/2 weeks end to end).
Doing it on your own is absolutely possible and cheaper than using a company. The benefit to me of using a company was that they will hand deliver it to be apostilled the day after I emailed them my FBI report.
Meanwhile, my apostille request, that I did on my own, to Pennsylvania is still pending (4 weeks and counting…)
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Alan - I am a bit confused by your message. You always have to note where you want the apostille for. This is so they can be assured the country is a part of the Hague convention, so far as I understand. I am not aware of any state-level Department of State will issue an apostille in a foreign language by themselves. Some middleman companies can do the translating for you but it costs a lot extra. I am getting my documents apostilled and then sending to a separate certified translation company.
But yes, always follow your lawyer’s advice.
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Wow well that is great to know for people needing a CA apostille! The way they did it, they probably just made the forms in each language - not hard really, but I have not seen elsewhere. Saves you some effort and $$. thanks for sharing.
Here is an update on my status.
I mailed fingerprint cards to FBI . I was able to get the fingerprinting done for free by the local PD. The FBI received my letter on 10/30. I received the email with the results today 11/2 so 1 business day turnaround.
I had a big problem with retrieving the PDF. It kept returning a “malformed response” error. To avoid this error use Microsoft Edge or Firefox browser only. Type in your PIN number only (do not cut and paste it). After several phone calls and back and forth, here is the solution to this if you get that error. You will need to call them to get a new pin. Then completely sign out of your email client (e.g., gmail) and clear all cookies and cache. Then do a web search for “how to sign into gmail”. and click that link and sign in again. Then click the link provided by the FBI and TYPE the pin number (dont cut and paste). YMMV.
I decided to use Monument Visa service for the apostille. It sounds that it can save a week or so of waiting. I will try and remember to update when i get it back.
Update 11-19-2020: In retrospect, I am not sure that Monument Visa or any other such service can expedite the process. I had understood that Monument would hand-deliver the documents to the DoS for processing and that may have been faster, but I dont think that is true. I believe they just mail them the same as you could do. You might ask them to clarify this point if you are considering the service.
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I’m not sure of your math there.
Just to clarify - if you use the post office, your fingerprints are sent immediately and you usually get your clearance within a day or less. I don’t think that has changed. Unless you don’t live near one of the approved fingerprinting post office sites, I would not recommend mailing in a fingerprint card.
As I wrote earlier, my apostille took about 5 weeks. Things could have gummed up the process a lot in the last 2 weeks I guess but unlikely. So, for me the whole process was less than 6 weeks.
I used this service (apostille-legalization.com) and got my FBI docs back within 2 weeks from the US state department – I was actually super surprised as they quoted me 1.5 to 2 months as did the state department. Sent them to my lawyer and they are correct.
The service was easy to use and reasonably priced. I used them because I didn’t want to risk messing anything up. They were also much cheaper than One source which seems to be the big player in the space but was 2-3x as expensive.
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Would you mind expanding on this? I sent in my FBI check to the Dept of State a few weeks ago but if this organization can do it quicker, I’d absolutely use it. If the in-person desk is closed, how would they be able to do it so quickly?
Thanks.