Cheaper alternatives to using a UK notary public?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

The I-601 instructions make no mention that any required evidence must be notarized. so it must be your lawyer's requirement.

[Darnell 8,478]

Anyone got any solid advice? Should I find a way to contact USCIS?

I really need the answer to this asap as my interview is in less than two weeks.

perhaps can shift a bit,

focusing instead on :

1. what document needs the notary chop (name of form, form number, attestation letter subject, etc)

2. who said, this document needs, requires a notary chop.

3. citing USCIS or DoS references on current process for 'things' requiring a notary chop.

are you seeking, instead, some form of authentication? i have read about this stuff for divorce documents on a usa citizen, but is not used for the Department of State - here's an example.

USA man wants to marry Turkish female. To get married in Turkey, the LOCAL magistrate office requires a divorce document that has been authenticated,

so the usa man gets :

1. certified copy of divorce document from county courthouse records office, then

2. sends it off to the state department in his state, for state level authentication then

3. sends it off to a federal level, department of state, for country-level authentication then

hands it over to the local magistrate in Turkey prior to wedding.

but that's just an example of authenticated documents, and is rarely needed.

What, pray tell, are you needing to be notarized or authenticated, and why? and who's opinion are you following to get this done, and what exactly is their opinion that started you on this path ?

[Boiler 43,433]

When I have seen notary mentioned before it has never been needed in a UK context, very few people win the Uk would have a clue what a notary was and often people seem to think it authenticates the information in the document.

[trandy 5]

still waiting on my attorney to give me details as to where one gets this info from.

all I can say is that it's for form I-601 waiver. My attorney has put together an affidavit, I've had my wife write a letter of support (she got hers notarized in the US for pretty much free, has a notary stamp on it) and I have a letter of support from a friend which is yet to be notarized and the affidavit itself needs to be notarized. Specifically to prove that whoever signed it did actually sign it. It (the affidavit + two support letters) forms part of a legal argument.

Edited July 8, 2015 by trandy

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

As an English-trained lawyer who abandoned her notary course halfway through because immigration got in the way...

A notary in the UK and a notary in the US are totally different animals. Here's a nice little blurb from the Notaries Society that explains the function of a UK notary:

Functions

Notaries are primarily concerned with the authentication and certification of signatures and documents for use abroad.

They are also authorised to conduct general legal practice (excluding the conduct of court proceedings) They may exercise the powers of a Commissioner for Oaths.

The majority also practise as solicitors but the scrivener notaries do not, nor do some 150 of the general notaries.

http://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk/what-is-a-notary

You're doing affidavits, right? You need a commissioner for oaths. Guess who are commissioners for oaths? Solicitors. Barristers. Licensed conveyancers. And of course notaries. I needed to do an affidavit for our DCF package back in 2007, and I had our in-house counsel take my oath. You don't need a notary, even though these are documents that are will be used internationally, because (as far as I can tell from what you've written) they're just affidavits. Notaries are used more frequently in transactional documentation. You're not performing a transaction -- someone is testifying under oath in an affidavit.

tl;dr -- your solicitor has no idea what he's talking about. Get a solicitor -- though it can't be one who is acting on your behalf or otherwise has an interest in the matter -- to take the oaths. Nich said it above -- London doesn't need notarisation.

[Boiler 43,433]

An example:

You do a will, in the US you would take it down to the Bank and usually a lady on reception is a Notary and will check your ID, normally Drivers License and witness that you signed it and stamp it and put the details in her book.

In the Uk you have 2 independent witnesses sign it.

A Notario in Spanish law sounds something similar but is a quasi lawyer type function.

Different countries, different systems, similar names.

[trandy 5]

As an English-trained lawyer who abandoned her notary course halfway through because immigration got in the way...

A notary in the UK and a notary in the US are totally different animals. Here's a nice little blurb from the Notaries Society that explains the function of a UK notary:

You're doing affidavits, right? You need a commissioner for oaths. Guess who are commissioners for oaths? Solicitors. Barristers. Licensed conveyancers. And of course notaries. I needed to do an affidavit for our DCF package back in 2007, and I had our in-house counsel take my oath. You don't need a notary, even though these are documents that are will be used internationally, because (as far as I can tell from what you've written) they're just affidavits. Notaries are used more frequently in transactional documentation. You're not performing a transaction -- someone is testifying under oath in an affidavit.

tl;dr -- your solicitor has no idea what he's talking about. Get a solicitor -- though it can't be one who is acting on your behalf or otherwise has an interest in the matter -- to take the oaths. Nich said it above -- London doesn't need notarisation.

Wow, that sounds pretty comprehensive, thanks!

Ok, I'll find a solicitor (my attorney is US based so we can forgive him for not quite knowing how it works over here) and ask them if they can do the oath thing.

Really appreciate the help guys and gals!

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Wow, that sounds pretty comprehensive, thanks!

Ok, I'll find a solicitor (my attorney is US based so we can forgive him for not quite knowing how it works over here) and ask them if they can do the oath thing.

Really appreciate the help guys and gals!

No problem! Many solicitors will do it for fairly cheap -- if you know a solicitor socially, you might get away with paying for it with a few drinks, like I did.

[trandy 5]

Cool

Just as a final note on the subject, I emailed my attorney and he said "The language in the USCIS Adjudication Manual, which is the document that tells the USCIS official how to process waiver applications, is "sworn statement," which in US law means a notarized or authenticated statement..."

But he said that technically speaking the support letters don't HAVE to be notarized, it just looks better. Although the affadavit does. So that might explain why support letters are elusive as there's no final word on that.