Do Civil Documents from Third Countries Need to Be Authenticated?

[Ben Dover 6]

Hello. I'm expecting NOA2 next month (fingers crossed), but some of the required documents are from a third country (not the country where the embassy in which the interview will take place is located). Do civil documents from a third country need to be authenticated by the government (and/or embassy) in that country before they can be used in a third country for immigration purposes, or will the embassy in the third country be able to verify legitimacy without authentication? Thanks in advance. 

[OldUser 9,965]

Translation to English is definitely needed.

 

Apostiles etc typically not required.

 

Is the third country your home country? 

[Ben Dover 6]

No, it's not. I'm American, but the documents are from a country where I happened to be living along with my wife and children.

 

You mentioned apostilles are typically not required. Are there any specific instances where apostilles may be required?

[OldUser 9,965]

16 minutes ago, Ben Dover said:

You mentioned apostilles are typically not required. Are there any specific instances where apostilles may be required?

I don't know such instances but I cannot guarantee they don't exist.

[Fr8dog 417]

For the embassy (though check the local topics) paperwork can be generally handed in in either English or the local language. However there is paperwork you will need again in the US for the rest of the visa journey. So yes getting them in English is smart thing to do. If anything needs to be certified it will state so in the embassy instructions.

Should you happen to live in Europe. All government documents are available in an International (english) version. I wouldn't be surprised if their are more countries that have that option. Makes your live easier again in the US.

Apostilles are going the way of the dodo. Unless you are the Dutch government cause they love to require them. They are one of the dumbest things ever all an apostile is a certificate that certifies that the certification of the certified person certifying the document is valid.