Korean Job Discussion Forums

[delirium]

Hi, and thanks for reading.

I'm trying to get my college diploma apostilled, and my case is a little more complicated. I graduated from college in Ohio, and currently live in Atlanta, GA. I called the Ohio Secretary of State and was told that I needed to have a copy of my degree notarized in the county of origin (meaning the county that I graduated from.) Because I live 14 hours away, my Alumni Relations Office had me fax a copy of my degree to them and notarized it for me and mailed it back. I then mailed it to the OH Sec. of State and they just rejected it saying that I needed to have a notarized seal and signature (which it has) and that they can't apostille the copy, that they need the original document. Has anyone else had this problem? I thought we only sent copies to our schools, so why would you notarize the original?

I'm thinking Ohio's Sec. of State is smoking crack.....But maybe I need to instead. Also, I have a Korean consulate right here in the state of Georgia. Would they be able to apostille this since I can just walk the actual degree into their office?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Triple007]

You need to go there and bring your original diploma. And you can contact your school and have them write a letter or have some proof that you graduated. You should bite the bullet and drive with all of the information you can possible obtain.

[rockymtn]

Contact the university registrars office. There should be someone there who can help with apostille. I was able to mail my orginal diploma to the registrar's office and they made a copy of the original and notarized copies for me. They mailed the notarized copies & apostille application to the sec. of state for me and mailed them all back to me when done. For a $25 fee it was pretty easy. I did all this out of state for both my diploma's at 2 different universities. My orginals were sent back to me in perfect condition. I'd call the sec of state again and ask them to restate the proceedure and then point out that you followed the steps. Seems like you aren't being told everything.

[delirium]

Thanks! My copy was notarized by the school, and the person that I spoke with at the OH Sec. of State's office may not have been the person who looked at the actual documentation.

I'm also going to contact GA Sec of State tomorrow and see if he can apostille it here in GA. He was really helpful and knowledgeable with my CBC (which is apostilled and in my hot little hand.) I was told by one recruiter that my degree had to be apostilled by the state in which I graduated, but I'm reading different stories on here. It sounds like Korea isn't requiring that, so much as some of the states are refusing to apostille degrees from out of state colleges. Is this correct?

Also, since I do have the Korean consulate here and can literally walk my degree in and show them, I was thinking they might be able to do it. I could be wrong here, but I know I have to interview with them anyway, and it seems like something they would also be able to officiate.

Thanks for the helpful responses. I will only "bite the bullet" and drive 14 hours one way as an absolute last resort. I find that absolutely insane and unecessary given how many people have gone/are going through this process.

[millyfrend]

Korean Immigration/teaching agency just care that you got an apostille on your documents. They just glance at it.

1. They make sure your copy degree w/ apostille on it matches your id
2. FBI background check has your name on it w/ apostille and matches your id

As long as you have an apostille on your documents, then you're good.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=199279

[delirium]

Thank you so much, millyfrend!

I think I can have it apostilled here in Atlanta, which makes me so happy. I appreciate you helping to clear this up!