Heading out of the country or bringing government documents back into the U.S. means that everything needs to be verified and authenticated. If you fail to do so, the documents could be faked and everything tied to them becomes null and void.
In the case of travel documents, your documents have to be authenticated before you leave and after your return. Of course, this only relates to other countries who are participants in The Hague Convention of 1961.
The Process of Document Apostille Services
A notary has to notarize every document you want sent to document apostille services. This requires that you, the notary, and possibly a witness be present in the same room. If there are other names on said documents, those people need to be present as well. The document has to be certified first by a county notary and then a state notary or your documents will not be apostilled.
Translation into Another Language
In the U.S., documents must be in English or translated into English before being notarized. If you need the documents in another language, usually the language of the country you are traveling to, you will need to have a set in English and a set in the other language. They should be paperclipped together before you send them to the apostille’s office.
When you are ready with all your documents in order, contact US Authentication Services via http://www.usauthentication.com/. They will instruct you on what to do next to get your documents apostilled.
