禁漫天堂

I didn't do either.聽 At the San Francisco consulate, if the envelope still sealed, you're good.聽 I assume it's still that way, and same elsewhere.

If you really do need an apostille, it seems to me that it would have to be the federal government's job.

Apostilles, notary stamps etc., attest to something. In this case, that your FBI report is the legitimate FBI report and hasn't been swapped with something else or modified.聽 The agency that does this, will need access to the FBI's archived version of the report, or some other way to do it.聽 I personally think it's a kind of crazy way to do business (and the consulate apparently agreed.)

Not that it matters, but this would be much more robust, yet trivially easy if the report were issued and submitted in digital form.

Thanks.聽 I didn't get anything in an envelope, just an electronic copy.聽

I'm looking at the FBI site now, and it appears I can request a copy to be mailed to me.聽

Thanks for the reply!聽 Since Apostille from the U.S. State Department can take 11 weeks and my appointment is sooner than that, maybe I'll request a copy from the FBI and leave it sealed as a back-up plan.聽

@FIRE_Expat

You have to use the Federal State Department. We had to do our apostille after and the Portuguese Embassy sent us the info. We had it done in 3 weeks. Here is the link they sent us. Good luck!

@reynbod2003

Thank you!聽 The website you sent says the following:

"Follow these steps to get the apostille certificate from our office:

聽 聽 Make sure your document is an original or certified copy

聽 聽 聽 聽 A certified copy is a copy of a primary document with a certificate on it that it is the true copy. Make sure seals and signatures are originals. The document must include a date of issuance.

聽 聽 If the country where you are using the document requires it to be translated from English, get a professional translator and have it notarized"

However, we received electronic copies from the website.聽 There is a watermark on the printout, but I just printed it on my home printer.聽 Does that count as an "original or certified copy?"聽 Or did you have the FBI send you a copy and then have that version Apostilled?聽 The timeline for that might not work with our VFS Global appointment.聽 I don't know the timeline to get a hard copy, and if I add the Apostille timeline I question if we'll get it all done in time.

This process seems to have so many weird holes in it.聽 For instance (and this is a minor irritant because I can write on the form) the ds4194.PDF form that's linked to on the site you sent (and that I have already filled out) does not allow you to type in an area code in the phone number field!聽 It gives the following error:

The value entered does not match the format of the field = "999-9999"

Seriously, the form rejects any phone number more than 7 digits!聽

Anyway, enough with the ranting.聽 If you could let me know what specific piece of paper - one printed at home or a hard copy sent by the FBI - you sent in to have Apostilled I would appreciate it!

We were told by the Embassy that the email copy was suffice. I even called the department, and by the way, tge rep was very friendly. But that was before any federal cuts. Anyway, he told us as long as the certification seal is on the letter and the signature of the FBI authorized personnel, they accept the email copy. We sent the whole emailed report to them. It was returned apostilled and we then Fedexed to the embassy鈥檚 rep. You should call the Department to make sure nothing has changed. I was able to enter my phone number and they called me. Maybe it鈥檚 your browser. Try another. Also you cannot use a personal check. They only take cashier鈥檚 checks, money orders and/or credit cards.

That makes sense to me - assuming "the department" and all the reported conversation is the US Department of State - the emailed version is just as authentic as the paper version, which is to say, neither are reliably authentic at all.聽 The apostilled version is what has to be physical (or the unopened envelope from the FBI.)

If we were in the 21st century, the FBI could just have sent it encrypted with their public key, e pronto.

You said 鈥淭he apostilled version is what has to be physical (or the unopened envelope from the FBI.)鈥� But we were told we could send the emailed copy as long as the seal and signature of the聽 authorized authority. And others said the same. But maybe it has changed.

I found a page on the travel.state.gov website that said you can get the authentication at the same time as getting the document.

CJIS will authenticate U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 fingerprint search results for international requests. They do this if requested at the time of submission. They do so by placing the FBI seal and signature of a Division official on the results.

However, I couldn't see anything on the FBI website about making this request.

I didn鈥檛 request it as it was after the VSF first interview. I just sent my emailed copy as the State Department and the Embassy said it was sufficient.

"But we were told we could send the emailed copy ..."

Sure.聽 I mean, this is what I'm trying to clarify.聽 You can email the report to the State Department- am I right?

But (of course, right?) there isn't any such thing as an emailed apostille.聽 What will go to the consulate, must be a physical copy with apostille.聽 (Or the original report in its unopened envelope.)

If you have the original FBI report, send that to the State Department via USPS. We didn鈥檛 have the original as we had left that one with VFS. So we had the emailed copy apostilled. We sent the report by USPS, not UPS, as UPS won鈥檛 deliver to a PO Box. Before mailing, we placed a UPS self-addressed prepaid envelope with the report and sent it overnight. Then after we received the apostilled report back, we send it by FedEx to the Embassy. They received it the next day and sent it to AIMA that same day.