yave20b Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 A few months ago someone on this Web site who was in Guangzhou for their fiancee's interview was forced by the VO to give him a certified (notarized) copy of his passport even though his fiancee had taken his original passport into the interview. So many other people here decided to make certified copies of their passports and send to their fiancees for the interview. Today I went to a notary public to have them make a certified copy of my passport and ran into trouble right away. She asked me if I wanted just one page certified or all of them certified. The catch is if you have them all certified, then they charge you a fee for each page, in this case $6.00 per page. I have a 40 page passport. And even though I can fit two passport pages on each page of photocopy, that still makes me have to do 20 pages at $6.00 each, which is $120.00 total for a certified copy of my passport. My question is do I really need to have each page of the photocopy of my passport certified? Or can I get away with just certifying only the first (and most important) page and have the remaining 19 pages of the photocopy not certified? Any experiences with this problem? Link to comment
warpedbored Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 As I recall that was moon carol cafe who had that problem. That is the only time I have ever heard of this. Since he was there at interview it was easy to rectify. Link to comment
johnandrose Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 My case might be a little different (a different country). But I wanted to share my experience anyway - When my wife got her P3, one of the items on her OF-169 was "Photo identification of petitioner". So, I just copied the "biographic" page of my passport and got it notarized. I also gave her a notarized copy of my DL. GZ is much more unpredictable than Bangladesh. So, I'm sorry to say that I really don't know if they'll actually ask for notarized copy of ALL pages. I suggest you get only the biographic pages (page with photo + page with passport info - they can be copied on one page) notarized and send regular copies of the rest of the pages. Good luck. Link to comment
mikem Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I supplied the main page with my photo and info numbers etc and the Chinese visa page when I did the 129.. Heres what I did..Went to my computer and typed in word //This is a true copy of passport number xxxxx belonging to Mr. xxx-xx cetified on // Date line //by line. I moved that down on the page to about a quarter of the way from the bottom and printed it out..; Now you have a blank page with that statement on it. Now turn on your color scanner and scan the passport thru to your printer(make sure you put the blank page with the statement on it in the printer so it prints the passport on that side with the ststement and you are ready to go. Take to the notary and show them your passport and have them certify if you do the copying should save you a heck of a lot.. But why pay at all go to your bank as you are a customer they should notorize for free.. Hope this helps..Mike Link to comment
MoonCarolCafe Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 As I recall that was moon carol cafe who had that problem. That is the only time I have ever heard of this. Since he was there at interview it was easy to rectify.My wife took my passport into the interview with her. She was blue-slipped with a request for a notarized copy of my passport and a videotape of us communicating using sign language, in Sanskrit, while hiking across the Sea of Tranquility. The first thing I did was put on my cape of righteous indignation and march into the Citizen Services section to ask why a notarized copy of my passport was required when they had the ACTUAL passport available for inspection. The kind gentleman in the CSS told me he did not understand what why the request for the copy was made. He used to work down in the visa department (this is who told me the requirement for VHS tapes is due to the lack of anything but an NTSC VHS machine to view them on). He was kind enough to make a notaried, color copy of my passport, gratis! :D There ARE nice people at the consulate after all. The notarized copy of my passport was similar to the notarized translation of our marriage certificate; all pages copied, then bound together, and the notarial script was put on the cover. So long story short; you should not have to get each individual page notarized if the copied pages are bound by the notary, with the outside cover being notarized regarding the contents within. All my multi-page docs that were notarized were done in China. I can see how a notary in the USA would try to pad the fees by telling you that each page must be done individually. If you are thinking of NOT going to Guangzhou to be with your wife for the interview, please please reconsider. Even if all things go according to plan you will still get to see your missus. And if they don't, nothing like being on site to try and straighten things out. Looking back I realize they likely had no plans to give us the visa that day. Even if I had the notarized copy and VHS tape I think we were already marked for a yellow slip. Link to comment
yave20b Posted September 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Yes thanks MoonCarolCafe. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I'm going to plan on trying to be there for the interview. But just in case I cannot I want to go ahead and at least send my fiancee the notarized copy of the passport in case my fiancee gets your fiancee's VO. Link to comment
helen_wang Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 i am wondering where to get notarized copy of the passport? the bank? Mind telling me? thanks a lot! Link to comment
warpedbored Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 If you are thinking of NOT going to Guangzhou to be with your wife for the interview, please please reconsider. Even if all things go according to plan you will still get to see your missus. And if they don't, nothing like being on site to try and straighten things out. Wise words Moon. Even though I was able to go to China and straighten out our visa problems I have kicked myself a thousand times for not being at Bings original interview. BTW did your wife get her visa yet? Link to comment
mtbdude Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 If you are thinking of NOT going to Guangzhou to be with your wife for the interview, please please reconsider. Even if all things go according to plan you will still get to see your missus. And if they don't, nothing like being on site to try and straighten things out. Wise words Moon. Even though I was able to go to China and straighten out our visa problems I have kicked myself a thousand times for not being at Bings original interview. BTW did your wife get her visa yet?thanks for making the point once again. i was definitely planning to be there, but also thinking since it's not mandatory i could miss it if things are too crazy on this end. well, only life/death issue will keep me away now. thanks guys. Link to comment
yave20b Posted September 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 You can get a notarized copy of your passport at any notary public. Actually it is not a notarized copy....its called a "certified copy" and all notary publics do it. I'm not sure what the difference is between "notarized" and "certified" but I think it has something to do with the fact that with the certified copy you are not signing anything.....only the notary public is signing the copy....whereas on notarized items both you and the notary public sign the documents. Splitting hairs I know. I'm sure your bank will do it for you. I already checked and the UPS stores all do it too. Link to comment
turtle Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 As an unrelated comment, let me just say how crappy these new passports are! I got mine in October, 2003, with a whole bunch of new anti-fraud crap built in. Now, one year later, the picture is almost completely faded out behind all that glittery junk and other watermarks. I swear, if I were a customs agent, I'd have a very tough time identifying the person in that photo. Hope this doesn't come up to bite me when I go to China next month!!! Link to comment
Dean Hall Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Yes thanks MoonCarolCafe. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I'm going to plan on trying to be there for the interview. But just in case I cannot I want to go ahead and at least send my fiancee the notarized copy of the passport in case my fiancee gets your fiancee's VO. OK - now you've lost me. Maybe I'm just dense. The whole point of sending in your U.S. passport was to prove to the VO that you were concerned and committed and were in GZ waiting for your fiance to get her visa. The only way for her to get your original passport and show it to the VO is for you to physically be there and hand it to her moments before she walks into the interview. If you are not physically present, and she goes in carrying only a certified copy of your passport, what are you proving? That you're not there?I believe that for whatever reason, it was "pick on MoonCarol" day at the Consulate. The VO can ask for pretty much whatever he wants in this scenario. The next time he may ask for the fiance or spouses thumbprint on a local GZ newspaper. The whole point is to show the Consulate that after all the blood, sweat, and tears, you are out there waiting. And if things fall apart, you are out there waiting for her (or him). I think if your NOT going to be there, your just adding unnecessary stress to an already stressed life. But I also believe that every possible effort should be made to be there. This single event is as life changing and important as the marriage, birthdays, and every other major event that marks the passage of life and time. It is also scary and stressful for the fiance or wife, many of whom have never left their native land. I urge everyone to be there for this event. Dean Link to comment
Alex Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Unfortunately, many like myself can't be there on interview day because of work obligations...I love my SO, but going to GZ would possibly mean getting fired...not very good for the I-134! Link to comment
mikem Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 You can get a notarized copy of your passport at any notary public. Actually it is not a notarized copy....its called a "certified copy" and all notary publics do it. I'm not sure what the difference is between "notarized" and "certified" but I think it has something to do with the fact that with the certified copy you are not signing anything.....only the notary public is signing the copy....whereas on notarized items both you and the notary public sign the documents. Splitting hairs I know. I'm sure your bank will do it for you. I already checked and the UPS stores all do it too. you notarize your signature something you signed as signing it. you certify a copy No signature do not sign the copy you want certified..]this means true copy///just the notary signs Link to comment
MoonCarolCafe Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 The whole point of sending in your U.S. passport was to prove to the VO that you were concerned and committed and were in GZ waiting for your fiance to get her visa. The only way for her to get your original passport and show it to the VO is for you to physically be there and hand it to her moments before she walks into the interview. She had my drivers license too. The VO kept it. I had to get a new one when I returned to the USA. Link to comment
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