Job Discussion Forums

[dakelei]

Are there any Americans out there who have recently done this? The process seems incredibly complicated. I graduated from a university in PA but I live in NJ.

[nomad soul]

[nomad soul]

Per the US State Department's Authentications Office, which states:
AUTHENTICATION OF AMERICAN ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS FOR USE ABROAD
Colleges, Universities and Other Post-Secondary Institutions:

1. Obtain from the registrar of the University an official true copy of the credentials. The registrar should then execute an affidavit attesting to the validity of the document before a notary public. Frequently the business offices of colleges and universities have notaries public.
NS: In other words, contact your PA university registrar and ask about the process to have your degree verified for authentication for employment in China. This is where you start. They know the drill; this is a function of the registrar' office. As stated above, he/she will sign an affidavit verifying you as a graduate of X and that your degree at said is valid. A university notary witnesses the registrar's signature and completes a notarial block stating as such. Also ask the registrar's office for a notarized transcript.

2. Take the document, with the notarial certificate to the state Notary Public Administrator for authentication.
NS: The Pennsylvania Department of State provides instructions for what to do with your now verified diploma.

3. If the country is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the state Notary Public Administrator will affix a state authentication certificate.
NS: Since China is not a party to the Hague Convention, the PA Secretary of State (SoS) will confirm that the notary who witnessed/notarized the registrar's signature is currently commissioned by the State of PA. The SoS will then attach an official state's certificate of authentication to your diploma before returning your diploma back to you. Contact the Pennsylvania SoS if you have questions about this part of the process, but it's fairly straight forward.

4. If necessary, obtain authentication of the U.S. Department of State seal at the foreign embassy in Washington, D.C. The embassy in Washington, DC of the country in which the document is to be used can tell you if this is required.
NS: You do not need to send your authenticated diploma to the US State Department Authentications Dept. See http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/vpna/t907716.htm which states the following: "If to be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate-General which holds consular jurisdiction over the State where your residence is located, the documents need not be authenticated by the US Department of State. After such documents are authenticated by the relative Secretary of the State, You may submit the documents directly to the relative Chinese Consulate-General. Accordingly, If your residence or the address of the authority issuing the document is located in the following States (New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio and New Jersey)..." The Consulate General in NY is the office for your jurisdiction at http://newyork.chineseconsulate.org/eng/zjfw/authentication/. You should be able to figure out the rest of the process from there.

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

If you are an American BUT DON'T LIVE IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA,
click here:

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlglj/t84229.htm


You will be shown a map of states that fall under the jurisdictions of various other Chinese consulates in the United States of America.

For a shortcut to the various consulates, click here:

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/vpna/t907716.htm

"...The requirements for Consular Authentication by the Chinese Embassy (in D.C.) and by the Chinese Consulate-Generals (in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago) are in some way different..."

[dakelei]

Thanks. I contacted my university today. I'll see what they have to say.

I completely understand why China wants to make sure that those who say they have a degree actually have one but it seems there must be a better way to do it than this.

[nomad soul]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

None of my schools will give any information by phone. Requests must be made in writing, and even then, requested information will be released only to the student. Even then, that info is limited to transcripts only and it carries a fee. Most likely, one will be steered toward one of the third party "clearinghouses" to whom the university has farmed out the information. A university of 20-25,000 students may have anywhere from 3-5000 graduates per year. Requests for verification by mail would require that they access the university database 24/7.

"...I would be willing to bet that a motivated person could forge their way through this entire process and still get the square shiny sticker on the back of their diploma from the Chinese consulate. Would I ever do that?..."

I didn't get a shiny sticker, a gold star, or anything like that!

At the end of the line, all I got from the Chinese consulate was a notary public's stamp and a letter from Paul Somebody attesting to the authenticity of my degree. The U.S. Department of state attached certificates with Colin Powell's signature on it. (It doesn't look like a stamped signature, but it probably is).