international.adoption.com/foreign/dossier.html Dossier - Agency, ...

Dossier - Agency, Birth, Certificate, Divorce, Having, Help, Homestudy, Information, International,Dossier Choose a Country Select a Professional International Homestudy Dossier I-600A Just when you thought you were done with being a document “hunter-gatherer” – you get to do it all again to assemble your dossier! Although it sounds presumptuous, a dossier (pronounced “doss-e-A”) is really just a collection of papers containing very detailed information about you. The vast majority of countries open to international adoption require prospective adoptive parents to compile a dossier. Compiling a dossier involves gathering documents, having these documents notarized, and then adding various seals from your county, your state, and the U.S. government. There’s Good News & Bad News… The good news is that some of the documents required for your dossier are the same documents required by the USCIS and your homestudy. The bad news is that the vast majority of these documents has to be notarized, certified, apostilled, and authenticated. We’ve all had documents notarized – where a Notary Public certifies that they witnessed a specific person sign a specific document. This is done to eliminate the possibility of forgery. A Notary Public can also certify that a copy of a document is a true and unaltered copy of the original document. Here’s a notary tip: Before you hand your local Notary Public a stack of documents that are bound for your dossier, ask when the notary’s commission expires. Most countries require that the notary’s commission be valid for at least a year past the date they witness a signature. Putting an apostille on something is the equivalent of having the Notary Public’s seal notarized. When a document is apostilled, the governmental body that registered the Notary is certifying that the Notary’s signature, seal, and license are valid. The government official will look at the signature and seal of the Notary on your notarized doc...