Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ytide]

It is easy and quick to get a U.S. federal apostille on your FBI criminal background check, if you do it in person in Washington DC. Just walk-in, and walk-out. (Of course, you have to be physically in Washington DC for this).

I will write a bit about my experience doing this, for the benefit of those that follow. Note that I actually did this in this past week; the below is not based on what I've read/heard, but is from personal experience.

The whole process has the feel of going to the DMV. I will describe it below, step-by-step, and make a few observations -- which I hope are of interest to somebody, somewhere, sometime (besides myself ) (You can read a cringingly-dry account of the process here).


How to Easily Get an Apostille In-Person, Washington DC
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Assemble Documents
1.) Assemble the following: a.) CBC(s) with the seal of an FBI official (request when sending for CBC); b.) check or money-order for $8 per CBC; c.) a filled-out apostille request form (you must fill this in and hand it in with your docs -- they also have copies at the office you can fill out).

Getting There (to the Authentication [Apostille] Office, 518 23rd Street NW, Washington DC)
[Preliminary Note: Seemingly the only place to do this in person is at the Authentications Office in Washington, DC. The below instructions are predicated on you being in, or being able to get to, the Washington DC Metro area:]
2.) Use the Metro system to ride to "Foggy Bottom" station. Get off here and exit. [WMATA.com will easily direct you on how to get there, regarding parking at a suburban station from which you can ride in, and regarding costs -- Fare from a suburban station is max $5.25 for a one-way rush-hour trip paid in cash. Make sure to not re-enter the Metro system before 9:30 AM to save a few dollars. Parking at a suburban station is under $5/day].
3.) After exiting station, stay on the side of the street from which you exit [There is only one exit from this station]. Turn right immediately after getting out of station, walk three blocks. You are walking through part of George Washington University campus. Three blocks south of the station, you're at Virginia Avenue. Cross Virginia Avenue, and you will see a sign saying "Columbia Plaza" on the right. Enter this plaza.
4.) Inside Columbia Plaza is a large open area with stone picnic tables and benches, lined by stationary stores, coffee shops, and the like. In one corner is the "Office of Authentications".
5.) Get there at 7.30 AM. (In theory, they are open till 11 AM. The way I observed the process working, I don't see how getting there are 10.30 AM would have gotten the job done). -- I got there at 7.30, and there was already a large crowd. The 30 or so seats inside were filled, with a dozen or two standing or sitting on the picnic tables outside.

Procedure Once "In"
6.) Take a number from the little machine just inside the door. (There are two buttons: One says "1-4 documents", another "5-15" documents. 15 is the limit per person.) Note that the piece of paper you get with a number also has a time printed on it, but ignore this. They called my number much sooner than was printed.
7.) Hang around waiting. There is a screen above the service counter at the front that will display your number, eventually. Once your number is displayed, line up, hand in your documents (but not payment yet). Note: If you are #30 and they're only on #10, don't wander off. They call numbers in bursts when they are ready, requiring people to line up.
8.) Once they have your documents, wait again. Your document(s) are being sent back to someone who will check that it is real. This person produces the apostille. This time, be sure to stay inside the building, because when your documents are ready, the clerk just shouts your number; it is not displayed on any screen.
9.) Within a half hour of handing in my documents, they called my number. My apostille was ready. I handed in payment. I was finished. I left.

Duration of Process
7.35 AM: Took my number.
8.30 AM: My number was called. Handed in my documents.
9.00 AM: I was out the door, with apostilled CBC in hand.

Observations
It was a rather strange mix of people that gathered at this place, to get document authentications. I was able to identify two principal groups, who together formed close to half of the "customers" that morning, by my estimation:
-- Group 1.) English teachers. A few girls and women were going to one or another of the Arab oil-statelets to teach, and of course there were a couple of us going to old Dae-Han-Min-Gook.
-- Group 2.) Apostille-getting couriers. These guys (and they were all guys, males) must work on behalf of the paid services that will expedite the mail-away process for you, which you can find online. At least, this is my conjecture based on the way they looked and behaved. Many of the people who I suspect were "professionals" in the field of getting apostilles had a "bike-messenger" vibe about them, (indeed, a couple of them rode bikes). They seemed at-home there, and used to the process. Most of the rest of us were a little intimidated, as any normal person is when dealing with Leviathan in a process with which we are unfamiliar. These couriers seemed neither unfamiliar nor intimidated. They were very knowledgeable about the whole thing, chatting with the rest of us standing outside about the database that the State Dept drones behind the scenes were using to check that our documents were real.

A third group were nondescript middle-aged men in business attire. I could not begin to guess why they were getting apostilles, and they probably had various and sundry reasons.

A fourth possible group, not that I could identify anyone doing this, would have been persons adopting foreign children. Apostilles are for dealing with foreign governments, so it makes sense. I only realized that this group would need apostilles upon seeing a large framed picture celebrating "Foreign Adoptions" on the wall of this drab, DMV-esque office.

One thing I couldn't quite understand, at first, was why a not-insignificant share of the customers looked only a-cut-above homeless. One middle-aged black guy in-particular looked a very, very thin cut above homeless. I couldn't understand why they were there (surely they are not going abroad or adopting), unless they were also couriers, which is probably what they were. The guy that looked barely-above-homeless was one of the lot of us that seemed mostly highly at-ease with the process, like it was his day job. It may have been. He joked with a few others in that familiar manner used by people who see each other every day.

"Conclusion"
Getting an apostille quickly is more-or-less simple, in-person -- If you're lucky enough to live close by. If you're within driving distance of Washington, do it. It will save you headache and time, and is an excuse to travel to Washington. Park at an outlying metro station and ride in, follow the simple instructions above, and you're done. I even feel guilty about how easy this was for me, considering that others are waiting weeks after mailing it in .

[DLat]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of how to do this for those of us fortunate to live near Washington.

[ForeverWanderlust]

Check with your State Secretary FIRST.

Alot of states will apostille the FBI CBC for you.

I know NC does it for a fact.

[isitts]

Thanks much! Be doing this next week.

[isitts]

[ytide]

[ytide]

In another thread, Gringo17 wondered if a family friend could do this for him in person.

[Fillzer]

Do I need to get my CBC notarized first before bringing it in, and can this notarization be done in a state outside of DC (say, MD or VA)?

Also, can I bring a copy of my notarized diploma and get that apostllized as well at this office, or does that have to be done at the state department of my specific state?

Thanks for any input anyone can provide?

[ytide]

[isitts]

bumping this in case it's helpful.

Is there any way this can be stickied?

[katbrady]

Thanks for all the helpful info!

I went there myself today.

Arrived at 7:30 AM.

Left with my documents at 8:00 AM.

[Tyshine]

[katbrady]