MUST apostille FBI letter

[steveinbsas]

I wonder if I could just forge an apostille? I don't really have time to wait, pay fedex, etc... :/

Not recommended even if you have the time and money to pay a lawyer for your defense if and when you are faced with criminal prosecution.

 

[nedders]

is this fbi letter only for US citizens or for all?
im from uk, and never read about some fbi letter required before.
what a pain in the arse it sounds like

 

[STElmoFranco]

Hi,

I finally got the apostilled FBI letter a few months ago. Here are the steps required:
1) Submit the request for the FBI criminal background check. In the cover letter request a certified version (has the FBI seal and signature). If I did it again I'd underline and bold the request for a certified version, because they forgot to do it for me, which required several calls and faxes to resolve it.
2) Once you receive that back (took 6-8 weeks for me), you send it to the US State Department (go to their website for address and info) to request the FBI letter to be apostilled. That is quite quick (about a week including mail), and if you happen to be in the DC area, you can get it done at the office. They attach a little piece of paper that says it is appostiled.
3)That's it! I believe Argentina accepts it for only 3 months, but I'm not certain about that.

On a side note, if you are getting your birth certificate appostiled, the state government where you were born does that one.

 

[nedders]

Hi,

I finally got the apostilled FBI letter a few months ago. Here are the steps required:
1) Submit the request for the FBI criminal background check. In the cover letter request a certified version (has the FBI seal and signature). If I did it again I'd underline and bold the request for a certified version, because they forgot to do it for me, which required several calls and faxes to resolve it.
2) Once you receive that back (took 6-8 weeks for me), you send it to the US State Department (go to their website for address and info) to request the FBI letter to be apostilled. That is quite quick (about a week including mail), and if you happen to be in the DC area, you can get it done at the office. They attach a little piece of paper that says it is appostiled.
3)That's it! I believe Argentina accepts it for only 3 months, but I'm not certain about that.

On a side note, if you are getting your birth certificate appostiled, the state government where you were born does that one.

and much does this all cost..paying for birth certificates and fbi checks, then to get them all apostilled..
also u must get them translated into spanish si?

 

[steveinbsas]

I wonder if anyone has recently had an FBI report without the Apostille accepted by migraciones. In recent weeks a friend of mine was told by his "lawyer" that migraciones would accept an FBI report without the Apostille, but posts in this thread indicate otherwise.

Perhaps this something only someone with "connections" at migraciones can acccomplish.

I'd simply like to know if the "lawyer" can "accomplish" something at migraciones that a foreigner acting on his own cannot. Even if that's the case, is it really worth spending $1200 to $3500 (USD) extra for this service?

A couple guys might think so, but I'm obviously not one of them (and neither is my friend).

 

[jayjane]

Just an FYI... Be careful who you talk to at the consulates if you are still in the U.S. We were given what we thought were clear instructions on obtaining the documents we needed. We ended up with incorrect information regarding the apostille for the FBI report. Now, we have to do it again since it was not authenticated/certified. We were also told that the report had to be used to apply for residency within 60 days which doesn´t seem to be the case. (Maybe, it is 60 days if you apply for residency before you go??)

 

[SimpleMark]

Hi allow me to jump in here as I JUST received my FBI background check with the apostille attached to it. I arrived in BA 3 months ago with all my paperwork even a background check that was apolstilled, however once I went to imigration they looked at my paperwork only to say, "problema." I wasn´t told that I needed a FBI background check. So I went to the local Police station in BA to have my fingerprints done then sent those with the application for a FBI background check to Washington. Once the background check was complete I had it sent to my assistant in the US and she had to send it to Virginia to have it apolstille in a different office. I finally received it today after a 2 1/2 month process. It is an attached form that has an embossed seal (you can hardly see it) and it looks like someone just printed it on thick manila color paper. If you need to start your job do what I did. I hired an attorney here for 1000 pesos and he helped me obtain a temporary work visa that ended up becoming a 2yr work visa due to an extension request that he put in. It´s now what you know but who you know that knows someone that knows someone else in BA. If you want the attorneys number I would be happy to ask my wife for his contact details and send it to you.

Sorry to be long winded.

 

[sam3g]

Okay, should I put $50USD in place of where my FBI Apostille should be or should I just send the damn thing back to the US and cut my losses?

 

[SimpleMark]

Ha, yeah if it was that easy I would have done the same thing. It is a pain in the butt however I would mail it back to the following address and make sure you have a check for the correct amount as I overpaid and sent my check back but was nice enough to just send me a bill with my apolstille.

US Department of State
518 23rd Street N.W. SA-1
Washington D.C. 20037
email is [email protected]

Email this person that send my paperwork back and they should be able to help answer your questions.

good luck!

 

[sam3g]

That email address doesn't work.

From the FBI:

9. Does the FBI provide apostilles*?

(*An apostille is a certification that a document that has been “legalized” or “authenticated” by the issuing agency through a process in which various seals are placed on the document.)

The CJIS Division will authenticate U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 fingerprint search results for international requests by placing the FBI seal and the signature of a division official on the results if requested at the time of submission. Documents prepared in this way may then be sent to the U.S. Department of State by the requester to obtain an apostille if necessary. This procedure became effective on January 25, 2010 and will apply only to documents finalized after that date. Requests to authenticate previously processed results will not be accepted. This procedure replaces the letter formerly provided by the CJIS Division that indicated the service was not provided. The apostille service is not provided to individuals requesting search results for Canadian immigration, as it is not required for this purpose.

From the US Dept. of State - Office of Authentications

Fees
The authentication fee is $8.00 per document. A personal/company check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State must be submitted with document. Visa and Mastercard are accepted for Walk-in Service only.

Mail Service
The Authentication of documents takes approximately 15 business days to process from the time of receipt**. Please include a cover-letter (see example) with your name, telephone number, address and email address. Please indicate the name of the country where the document will be used. We suggest using a self-addressed stamped envelope for faster return of your documents. Documents received without a return envelope and postage will be returned through the State Department regular mail, which can result in a 2-3 week delay. You can use Fed/Ex, UPS, and express mail services for faster receipt/return of your documents. However, you must enclose a prepaid airbill and envelope.

Mailing Address

U.S. Department of State
Authentications Office
518 23rd Street NW.
SA-1
Washington, DC 20520

** U.S. Postal Service mail entering the U.S. Department of State must go through a screening process which may delay the time in which we will receive the document.

The Authentications Office will mail documents directly to the Foreign Embassy or Consulates if provided with a transmittal letter, fee, and a pre-addressed stamped envelope. Please enclose an additional pre-addressed stamped envelope for the embassy or consulate to return the document.