Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lazyslacker]

Sorry if this has been asked a million times, I'm sure it has. I'm wondering if I'm able to get my FBI criminal background check apostilled in a state other than the one I live in and graduated from? I live in GA, but I'll be passing through Florida. From what I've read on this forum, it seems Florida is one of the states which will apostille the FBI background check, thereby allowing me to avoid sending it to Washington DC.

Also, does anybody know whether Georgia will apostille my FBI CBC? If it matters, I've had it authenticated with a seal and signature. I'm going to call them and ask tomorrow anyway so no big deal, but I thought I might ask here in the mean time.

[RMNC]

The FBI CBC has to be apostilled by the Dept. of State in D.C. States apostilles on the FBI check don't count at Korean immigration.

[FloridaGator314]

Where does this hardline stance that Korean Immigration will reject a CBC Apostilled by a state come from? I've heard countless cases on here of people having their FBI checks Apostilled by their state and Korean Immigration accepting it and not a single case of the state Apostille on the CBC being denied. I've also been told by 3 recruiters that Korean Immigration will accept a CBC Apostilled by a state's Department of State.

I also got a quote from Apostille Pros and they offered to have a CBC Apostilled by the Department of State in California which they claimed would be valid for use in South Korea, and I assume they know what they're talking about.

[RMNC]

Nope, they don't.

The consulate has no way of knowing if a document is real unless it's verified by the agency of the same "level" (state or federal) as the issuance. The FBI CBC is a federally issued document, the state (a lower 'level', if you will) has nothing to do with it. They can apostille it, but that apostille is based on nothing at all and Kimmi no longer accepts them.

As of January 1st of this year, state-level background checks and apostilles are no longer accepted and only FBI CBC ones with an apostille from the Dept. of State in DC work.

[jfromtheway]

I didn't feel like waiting for the State Department so I paid a bit extra with apostille pros and got my FBI CBC apostilled with a "State of California" apostille (though I'm not from California). I got my visa and plane ticket just fine. Have people been getting turned down by Korean immigration with a State apostille on their FBI CBC?

[MyNameIsNobody]

jfromtheway, did you submit your FBI check with state-level apostille after January 1, 2011.

RMNC, I've been perusing these boards for a while, and you're not the kind of poster I would challenge given your track record of offering solid advice. However, I do wonder where you're getting that as of January 1, 2011, all FBI CBCs must have an apostille affixed by the Department of State in DC.

I've been reading plenty of things to the contrary. On the EPIK website (here: http://epik.go.kr/ ) after clicking on "Required Documents" under the "Application" tab, if you scroll down to "Criminal Record Check (CRC)," you will see the following: "Applicants from the United States must submit an FBI background check. Please be aware that the FBI check can take up to 12 weeks to receive, so we advise that you apply for it early/ [sic] The FBI does not issue apostilles for the background check; you will have to submit it to either the Department of State or your Secretary of State." A little futher down on the same page, you will also see a table that says either the Department of State or the Secretary of State office is acceptable for the apostille on the FBI CBC. Is the EPIK site wrong?

FloridaGator314 already pointed out that there have been several examples of people on this forum who have used the state-level apostilles and have experienced success with K-immigration. Moreover, I don't recall seeing a single person complaining that they were rejected by K-immigration for a state level apostille on Riker's "States that Apostille FBI Checks ( REVISED )" thread or elsewhere on these boards (Riker's thread here: http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=200961&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 ). That thread was started on February 17, 2011, after the January 1, 2011 date you're saying this rule was implemented. I did a bit of Googling, and I came across one recruiter that is even encouraging getting the state level apostille instead of the federal (Gone2Korea page here: http://www.gone2korea.com/background-checks.html --yes, I know recruiters can be wrong).

If you or anyone else can cite something from K-immigration that states the state-level apostille is unacceptable for the FBI CBC, please do. I'd hate for someone to get screwed on a technicality.

Thanks.

[imGosu]

I called and asked the office that does apostiles here and they said they do federal level apostiles on federal documents and states on state documents. You should call and ask to see if thats the case for your state.

[RMNC]

This is what I was told by Korean immigration earlier this year.

Though I do believe it's no secret that the "required" documents and apostilles is a very fluidous term from department to department with a huge range of variance in Korea and America. It could have just been the person I talked to that day. Still, to be sure, I got mine done at the federal level. I've also only heard recruiter talking about federal level apostilles when looking at job boards, never state. More clarification is needed in this whole process.

[jfromtheway]

Hey, I sent mine to ApostillePros in February or March of this year (post January 1, 2011). I haven't been checking up on the CBC situation since then, but, like you, I never heard a case of anyone being rejected by K-town immigration and I tried to read everything I could on the issue beforehand. *Not saying it couldn't happen though.*

I also called ApostillePros four or five times before I sent them anything or paid them any money and they assured me the California notarization and apostille had never caused someone to be denied a visa for Korea.

Since my CBC came back without an official "seal" I would have had to send it back to the FBI for the seal (or notarization) and then to the State Department for the apostille, and that could have taken a long-ass time. So I just ate the couple hundo for the California notarization and apostille, which took about 3 or 4 days. As far as I know, some states apostille federal documents but others (like mine) don't. That's why I was curious about hearing if anyone had actually been denied a visa due to a State apostille on a federal document.

[Vox_Populi]

[rkhan11]

So I've had my interview already with EPIK and they had no issues with the scans of everything I submitted including my state level (Florida) apostilled FBI CBC. Everything I've heard, including from recruiters (footprints) say that if your state is able to Apostille Federal documents, to go through the state level.

[Vox_Populi]

[Vox_Populi]

[samcic]

My friends and I got a state apostille on the FBI check and everything was accepted by Korean Immigration. This was just last month. I also read no one on here got the rejection from the state apostille.

Korean Immigration basically said, if I want a copy of the apostille and they ripped off the staples and made me a copy.

Korean Immigration doesn't really care as long as you have an apostille (federal or state) on the FBI document. You're submitting the real FBI check to Korean Immigration no matter if you get a state or federal. The FBI check has a watermark on it, (try to make a copy of it), so it's not easy to fake it.

I guess it is up to people. They can wait for months or go with what people have already stated, state apostille on the FBI is fine.

NO ONE HAS GOTTEN REJECTED BY KOREAN IMMIGRATION SO FAR.

[samcic]

Are you in Korea now?