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Visa Agent Services (Referrals)
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tin man



Joined: 18 Jun 2010
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 1:28 pm    Post subject: visa Reply with quote

I didn't want to deal with this mess living outside of the state where I got my degree, even though some teachers seem to think the process is simple it sounded like a cluster F to me. The good news is that these agencies can apparently get around the red tape but I got lucky with the school taking responsibility for the agent. I would hate to gamble on it myself but I can recommend my agent if they get the job done.

In addition, my agency also told me yesterday that the medical check is no longer required in the US. Does anyone concur?
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OhBudPowellWhereArtThou



Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 1168
Location: Since 2003

PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
dakelei wrote:
I contacted my university and was told I need to do it in person. I can't FedEx myself there.


Unless there's some sort of hold on your academic records, that makes no sense -- former international students who have returned home certainly wouldn't be expected to fly all the way to the US just to get their American diploma verified.

Did you speak directly with the registrar? That's who you need to contact and ask about other options to have this done.


Though there's a LOT of conflicting information out there (especially on embassy and consulate websites), this is good advice. Call the registrar's office directly and ask for a good time to talk to him if he's not available. For verification purposes (if you are from the U.S.), your social security number is authentication of your identification. (One's SS is usually one's permanent student ID. .

Try emailing the registrar first to set up a time to talk. Provide your SS number (or the last seven digits of it as proof that you are who you say you are).
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou wrote:
For verification purposes (if you are from the U.S.), your social security number is authentication of your identification. (One's SS is usually one's permanent student ID.

FYI: For privacy/security reasons, many universities stopped using SSNs for student ID numbers 10+ years ago. Some states even have legislation prohibiting this practice.

(Edited to add the following:)

Quote:
"This guidance addresses the use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) by educational institutions for various student identification purposes, the current trend of moving away from SSNs as student identifiers in favor of “alternative identifiers” to minimize the risk of inadvertent disclosure, and frequently asked questions about legal compliance under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) when SSNs are used by an educational institution in some
capacity. Source: FERPA and Social Security Numbers


Last edited by nomad soul on Sat Jul 08, 2017 9:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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astrotrain



Joined: 18 Apr 2013
Posts: 96

PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 8:42 pm    Post subject: Re: visa Reply with quote

tin man wrote:


In addition, my agency also told me yesterday that the medical check is no longer required in the US. Does anyone concur?
[list=]

I got confirmation from my old school in Guangxi province that the medical check can be done in China after you arrive. Not sure all schools/provinces follow this or want to acknowledge it since they are worried about the future employees croking when they get there but I had my check in CND anyways. [/list]
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tin man



Joined: 18 Jun 2010
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:08 pm    Post subject: medical Reply with quote

I like it
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 9:47 pm    Post subject: Re: agent Reply with quote

tin man wrote:
Nomad

The agent claims that they can get the degree and police check authenticated. The school recommended them and taking responsibility. I will know more in the next few weeks how they perform.

I can't comment yet on quitting my day job Smile. I do enjoy teaching.

Actually, my response was directed at dakelei. Wink

But good luck getting all of your requirements taken care of.
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LarssonCrew



Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308

PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see increasingly jobs posted on wechat for 25000+, wish I'd waited some what to accept my next semesters job. Oh well. I think part of this is the difficulty of teachers who have never been to China having to spend months and a thousand dollars on all this visa stuff.
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OhBudPowellWhereArtThou



Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 1168
Location: Since 2003

PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
tin man wrote:
I am looking to cut through the red tape and find a visa service that can handle the cumbersome authentication for a US degree and not finding any in the search. Any recommendations on visa services that can get it done?

Google document authentication services to find an agent in your state.

It's really not a cumbersome process. You'd need to contact your university registrar's office to ask them about certifying the validity of your degree (with the registrar's notarized affidavit) for employment in China. Once that's done, the document would need to go to the secretary of state for the certificate of authentication. (This would be the SoS in the state your university is located in.) I suggest you check the SoS's website or contact them to see what their process is; some states require an additional step at the county level. After the state does its thing, follow the rest of the process per the Chinese consulate's instructions.

dakelei wrote:
There simply aren't any that can handle every step. I currently live in one state and the university from which I graduated is in another. Each step requires not only a multi-hour drive but must be completed on a weekday, during regular business hours. I work those hours.

No need to drive everywhere; use FedEx.
.


Good luck getting a degree certified. If one needs to prove that one's degree is valid, the route is now verification, and because of the massive amount of data required to manage a school's enrollment , graduation, and award of degrees, all but the smallest colleges have turned the job over to:

www.degreeverify.org

What provision in the authentication process requires certification of the degree?

I doubt that the Chinese Powerz that Bee would accept such a document.

Herein one may find the requirements for authentication of American degrees:

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

An applicant must procure his documents and required authentication himself. After obtaining the medical check (if required by the school), your authenticated degree and other required documents such as your passport you may send them to :

https://www.traveldocs.com/expedited-visa-services/China-visa-processing-country46

Good luck.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou wrote:
Good luck getting a degree certified. If one needs to prove that one's degree is valid, the route is now verification, and because of the massive amount of data required to manage a school's enrollment , graduation, and award of degrees, all but the smallest colleges have turned the job over to:

www.degreeverify.org

What provision in the authentication process requires certification of the degree?

I doubt that the Chinese Powerz that Bee would accept such a document.

You might want to research info before posting it. So as not to confuse readers, DegreeVerify does not provide notarized diplomas. It's a paid online service primarily used for US background checks on prospective new hires and credit card applicants. It's how my current employer here in the US confirmed my education (see https://nscverifications.org/degreeverify/).

Quote:
Herein one may find the requirements for authentication of American degrees:

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

Whereby, the first step clearly stated in the Chinese Consulate's instructions is that the document be notarized, which is a service the applicant's university provides for employment abroad. The second step requires that the state's Secretary of State attach a cert of authentication/authority to the diploma. And so on. This is nothing new; it's the same process that's been stated throughout this thread and forum, and it mirrors the instructions per the US State Dept's Authentication of American Academic Credentials for Use Abroad.
.
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tin man



Joined: 18 Jun 2010
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 10:41 pm    Post subject: agent Reply with quote

In my case, the school recommended an agency to handle much of the authentication paperwork for the degree and police check, etc. They claim to know how to expedite the process and the school is taking responsibility (all the risk). Other teachers seemed to have commented as well that they found services to do likewise. Worse case they can't get it done but I would not be out any money.
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OhBudPowellWhereArtThou



Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 1168
Location: Since 2003

PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems that new and different terms are thrown into this thread and every other thread regarding this subject.

Earlier discussions indicated that a notary public can authenticate a degree. A notary public's stamp merely attests that the COPY that bears his notarization is a true COPY of the original.

Nowhere has it been suggested that Verify provides notarized degrees. I question the term certification, though.

Also, many explanations skip over the fact that if one submits a COPY of one's degree, THAT must be notarized.

The description of the process continues to evolve toward greater accuracy. That's a good thing.

Good show.
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nimadecaomei



Joined: 22 Sep 2016
Posts: 605

PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, when I contacted my university they wanted a copy to notarize, then it would go Sec of State of California, then to the Consulate in SF. I have a company, through Beijing, doing it. I doubt they will bother with my university, just notarize, Sec State, then embassy. No doubt the way they are doing it is illegal. These companies are popping up not for expats needing the service, but for Chinese returning from abroad with documents that need to be authenticated. The expat use of the services is secondary, but they don't mind the extra money I am sure.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou wrote:
It seems that new and different terms are thrown into this thread and every other thread regarding this subject.

Earlier discussions indicated that a notary public can authenticate a degree. A notary public's stamp merely attests that the COPY that bears his notarization is a true COPY of the original.

No one in this thread has stated that a notary public can authenticate a diploma. Additionally, a notary does not attest that the copy of the diploma is a true copy of the original for authentication.

Again, per the US State Dept's process for Authentication of American Academic Credentials for Use Abroad, for 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.
In other words, the purpose of authentication is to validate the diploma -- that said student did graduate from X University, which the registrar does with an affidavit (a written statement), usually printed on the back of the document. He/she then signs the statement in front of the notary, whose role is to certify that the registrar did indeed sign the affidavit in his/her presence. That is, the notary is verifying the authenticity of the registrar's signature. The document would then head to the state's Secretary of State for a certificate of authentication/authority. Moreover, hypothetically, if the notarized document were ever to be introduced as evidence in a legal proceeding, guess who would likely have to appear in court: the university registrar (the affiant) and not the notary public.

BTW, the affidavit and jurat (notary signature block for affidavits) generally look like this sample from Duke University, which resembles the wording and format on the back of my own diploma. (I'm not a Duke alumna.)

and OhBudPowellWhereArtThou wrote:
Nowhere has it been suggested that Verify provides notarized degrees. I question the term certification, though.

It's unclear why you even brought up DegreeVerify in your previous post since the company has nothing to do with degree authentication. And you've been the only poster in this thread who has mentioned the word certification. (Certify is a synonym for verify, confirm, validate, affirm, attest, etc.)
.
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nimadecaomei



Joined: 22 Sep 2016
Posts: 605

PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, so my degree has been authenticated by the Chinese consulate. I did not leave China. I paid 2200 yuan and they processed it through NY and the NY consulate (my doc is from CA). It has the authentication stamp from the Chinese consulate. It was obviously not a very legal process, but I am not defrauding anyone.
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nimadecaomei



Joined: 22 Sep 2016
Posts: 605

PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think people are misunderstanding the authentication thing. It is really aimed at returning Chinese, who outnumber the non-Chinese greatly. There is not a very viable way for them to go through the steps the government requires for an authenticated document.

They are entering the workforce claiming a foreign qual, be it education or not. They need to prove it is real and the only way is for them to get it authenticated. 4000+ down to get your first job returning to China? Naw, do it the Chinese way.
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