Korean Job Discussion Forums

[FastForward]

I went to the notary and made a copy of my diploma
I advised the notary that I needed her to do a notary stating that the copy is an authentic of the original. She advised me she could not do that and I had to write on a piece of paper that I verify this is a true copy of the original diploma, signed it and printed my name
Then she filled out a separate form basically stating that it was actually me that wrote it.
I then got an authentication of the notary from my state showing that she was an authorized notary.

That doesn't sound right. Doesn't the notary have to verify that the copy is an authentic of the original?

I then mailed it to the state capitol for the Lt.Governor to do the apostille. I did also verify that they would apostille out of state diplomas.

So after doing this I realized that this does not do anything.....Nobody in this process is verifying that the diploma is authentic, so it could be a copy of a fake. It is basically verifying that I was the one that wrote the note stating I verified the diploma....So what is the purpose of getting an apostille? Maybe I did something wrong here. On the form I filled out for the state it clearly states they are not authenticating the diploma and they are simply confirming that a notary is valid for foreign purposes.

[ElephantJumper]

Slightly different from what I did, but it'll probably be ok. The notary actually said to me that he thought the whole system was useless, but that's just the way it is.

[hank25000]

That sounds odd. When I had my degree notarised, the notary public provided me with a written statement that he has the athority to notarise and that the copy was a true copy of the original.

Come to think of it, only people of certain professions can make a certified copy which is what it sounds like you did yourself - make a photocopy and write "I certify that this is a true copy of the original." People such as registered teachers, principals, doctors, councilmen and so on can do this. Joe average can not.

I don't know how your apostille will work out then. You've sent it in already, right? Well, best to wait and see. Good luck

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[gingercat]

Please let us know how it turns out. I am in the same predicament, trying to figure out exactly how to get something apostilled. I am a notary myself, and here in NJ we have strict rules. For example, we do not notarize originals (birth certificates, marriage certificate, ss cards, school degrees, etc), nor do we certify copies. Many people mistakenly think that notaries guarantee authenticity. We do not. What we are essentially doing is serving as an impartial witness, we are confirming (through our seal), that you came before us, signed a document and possibly took an oath (depends on what you notarize, not all documents require an oath).

The NJ Dept of Treasury website says, "Submit the original or certified copy of the document bearing the original notarization or certification by the public official

Okay, easy enough to get a certified copy of your degree. You just have your college send you one and pay $30 (I went to Rutgers, the registrar's website has an easy 1 page form you fill out for this). But I have no clue what my next step is. What public official would be able to notarize/certify? Certainly not a notary, not here in Jersey anyway. I am going to call the state on Monday as well as my town's municipal office.

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[FastForward]

I got my apostille back from Hawaii. They were super back logged.

The apostille looks like what the circuit court gave me. not sure what the apostille is really doing, other than costing me $1.00 lol. Here is how it reads
Apostille

1. Country United States of America
THIS PUBLIC DOCUMENT
2. has been signed by Ashley Jean xxx(the notary)
3.acting in the capacity of notary public
4. bears the seal/stamp Ashley Jean xxx
NOTARY PUBLIC STATE OF HAWAII
CERTIFIED
5. at Honolulu, Hawaii 6. the 1st day of September, 2011
7. BRIAN E.Schatz, Lieutenant Governor, State of Hawaii
8. No.11-2240
9.Seal/Stamp(it appears underneath 10/ Signature(appears underneath)

That is all it is. Just seems to verify that the notary is legit, which the circuit court already did.

[FastForward]

It appears from everything I have read, is that kimmi keeps your apostilled copy of your degree. I am on a F4 visa, so I'm not sure where I need to send this apostille or if I need to hand it over to my school and they can handle it.