For anyone that can use this info - we had a very good experience working with Dulce Branco for our FBI report and marriage certificate translations. We emailed the apostilled documents to her and she had the translations (and her certification document) emailed back to us within 3 days, and the paper copies are on their way to us now via priority mail. We contacted several translators on the the list on the Portuguese Embassy website - Translation - Consular services - Consular Section - Embassy of Portugal to the United States of America - and found Dulce to be the easiest to coordinate with, and her service was very professional. We were happy with her rates of $30 per page, which with the 2 FBI reports and marriage certificate, plus apostille page for each, came to 6 pages. Hope this info is helpful.
I want to share my experience in getting the apostilles. I used Monument Visa for the FBI reports. I emailed them the reports before Thanksgiving and got them back in 4 weeks. I also had to request an apostille for our marriage certificate from California and we got it back in 4 weeks as well (I submitted this to CA secretary of state myself)
I called Monument Visa asking for updates after 3 weeks and chatted with them a bit about their experience during the pandemic. They said normally they submitted the requests in-person and usually got the apostilles back within a week. Since the DoS suspended in-person counter service (since March!), they had to mail in the requests like everyone else. They do bundle the requests, however. They said they think there are more staff at DoS now because they are seeing new names on the apostilles since beginning of December. They also said that there were no patterns for how long it takes to get the apostilles back. They had some that were issued in couples of week after they mailed them in and some took 6 weeks.
On a side note, I didnāt have to have any of the documents translated. I sent the documents and apostilles to our lawyer and they took care of the translation in Portugal.
Thanks for update. Good to know. My understanding is that at some point (every 2 years?) GV applicants have to do this all over again for the renewal. Hopefully the process is a bit easier the next go around.
Iād use a service, I wish I had. I got fbi docs Oct 5, had them at state dept oct 12 (usps priority mail), didnāt see them heading back (also usps priority) until 12/ 18, didnāt have in hand till 12/26. Very tight for a 90-day deadline! I think we make it but just barely.
SoS and USPS are doing us no honor here. If these services can save you 6 weeks, youāll make up the cost in antacids. I will certainly do so next round.
Hello everyone on this thread. The information posted here is great. I have few questions, appreciate if someone can provide guidance. I will be filling gv application in Marchā21.
- Do i need to get birth certificates apostilled?
- Do i need to get marriage certificates apostilled?
- Do i need to get fbi background check for all members of the family? Or just primary applicant?
- After reading through the thread, it appears fbi background check (request thru cjis website) takes max of 2 weeks and then apostilled can take upto 6 weeks. Is that correct?
Thanks in advance!
Amit
- yes
- yes
- all over 16 yo
- yes
@anon16151502 thanks!!!
If my birth and marriage certificates are from India, can i get them apostilled in US?
@amitporto No, it doesnt work like that. You need to have apostilled from the agency that issued them.
Ahā¦ so i need to find someone agency in India and get those docs apostilled through them. Correct?
Only difference is the FBI checks come back almost instantly if you use the post office for your fingerprints. I sent them the next day for apostille with monumentvisa.com.
Regarding the sealed FBI document option, I see:
- Does the FBI provide apostilles*?
(*An apostille is a certification that a document has been ālegalizedā or āauthenticatedā by the issuing agency through a process in which various seals are placed on the document.)The FBI will authenticate all U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 fingerprint search results by placing the FBI seal and the signature of a division official on the results at the time of submission.
Note: The FBI seal is no longer a raised seal. Documents authenticated by the FBI may then be sent to the U.S. Department of State by the requestor to obtain an apostille if necessary. Requests to authenticate previously processed results will not be accepted.
https://www.edo.cjis.gov/#/faq
I requested a sealed report by mail. Given the extraordinary and timeline-wrecking delays at the State Dept., Iām inclined to work with my lawyer to explore the option of submitting my document with only the FBI seal and signature. I believe that I will also have access to the PDF, which I can use for translation and parallel apostillingāin case they ask for it later.
This approach also has the nice feature of potentially expediting my application by eight to twelve weeks, if not more. I have no incentive to dawdle.
davidpletcher said: I requested a sealed report by mail. Given the extraordinary and timeline-wrecking delays at the State Dept., Iām inclined to work with my lawyer to explore the option of submitting my document with only the FBI seal and signature. I believe that I will also have access to the PDF, which I can use for translation and parallel apostillingāin case they ask for it later.
This approach also has the nice feature of potentially expediting my application by eight to twelve weeks, if not more. I have no incentive to dawdle.
The PDF version is identical to the copy you will receive by mail, just FYI.
I sent my Fingerprint Search direct to the US State Department, and the turnaround time (including overnight mail each way) was a little over 8 weeks. I would strongly recommend that you consider using the third party service(s) mentioned elsewhere in this thread. Even though the walk-up counters at the State Department are closed, these services are reportedly still able to offer faster results than doing this on your own.
RJ
I imagine what is going on based on what Anne and Jake stated, is that certain applicants are entitled to expedited services as a matter of custom (e.g., diplomats, embassy staff, political class), so your applicant may or may not end up in a batch with such persons. If it does, then it is likely that yours would just tag along with their application since they are probably just processed in a bundle as they come.
Anyone come across info on, or experience with getting apostilled proof that your dependent adult children are NOT married?
I have a couple of kids (> 18 yo) in school that weāre going to try 
and bring along on our GV application. But one piece of documentation that I need is something official that states that they arenāt married. I understand that in PT, this is part of your birth certificate record, but Iām not aware of anything equivalent in the US.
I was told not to worry about this until I arrived for my biometrics. It is apparently not something that needs to be apostilled. You/the kid can write our a statement to the effect that they are not married and sign it, as I understand it. You do however, need something official from a school stating that they are a student so make sure to get that before hand.
Interesting Larry. Iām sure we all love the different guidance we get on the same requirements. My attorneyās office indicated that I needed something official. Iāve asked them to see what other Americans have done in the past, so weāll see. RE: school. Yes, that one seems a little more straight-forward and Iām getting letters from the Registrarās essentially saying theyāre currently a student, and am going to try to get them notarized.
I have gotten statements from the county that my son (22) lives in that there is no marriage recorded for him or my daughter (19). I will appositle them with my Sonās notarized letter from school (stating he is a student) as they are all from California. My Daughter actually lives in NYC right now going to school, but the NYC process is a complete cluster due to COVID. She used to live in that county so I think I will be fine.
Depending on your state/county/local municipality you may or may not have a way to get one of the single status letters. Search for āLetter of No Record / Single Statusā and your county or state and see what you get back.
Iām just starting to talk to my Lawyers right now, but Iām trying to get ahead of their requests.
Great info, especially RE: āletter of no recordā. Thanks!
I asked my lawyers about getting that but anyone who knows about the US knows that those letters are useless because perhaps I just got married in the next county over, for instance, but my county has no record of it. As I said, my team said basically a signed afadavit would be fine but others might receive different advice. Iāll let you know if it works when we go for our biometrics!!
I never underestimate a bureaucracyās desire for useless paperwork. So I spend a little time and money to get the document before they ask for it, and if they donāt need it I have insurance. Better than delaying the process when some little Neoplean at the immigration office decides to exert their power.