Is my Degree Apostilled Correctly (Stamp is not on the degree itself)?

84,

Nobody on this blog can state with certainty that the stapled document is adequate because we haven't seen the document.

If you have doubts about whether it is a proper apostille or document, you should show the original or a copy to an experienced EC immigration attorney.

The power-of-attorney issue and variation in last names is also a legal matter in which such an EC attorney could be assisting you.

Although you can save a few hundred by using a non-attorney visa specialist, it appears from your posts on multiple expat-blog threads that your case has so many particulars that using an attorney is the advisable route.

At the risk of repeating myself:  non-attorney posters on this blog have the disadvantage of not always knowing the latest visa rules and procedures, which have historically been subject to changing with little or no notice.

ccc media, investment visa holder, Quito

I'm going to have to figure this out too. I was born in the UK, live in the US, went to uni in Canada. I'm hoping I don't have to travel to those countries just to get documents properly apostillised. Please let us know what you find out. I'll probably need an immigration attorney but may as well get some heads up.   Luckily my husband and the kids are all US based so they should be easy enough.

CaraG wrote:

I'm going to have to figure this out too. I was born in the UK, live in the US, went to uni in Canada. I'm hoping I don't have to travel to those countries just to get documents properly apostillised. Please let us know what you find out.

Cara,

I wouldn't wait until the other poster finds something out and then possibly posts about it.  I recommend you be pro-active now, even if you have a year it's not too early to start:  find out what you need for your type of visa (which may be different from 84's) and start requesting the documents and apostilles now.

I waited till I arrived in Ecuador and had met with my attorney in person before ordering some dox-aps and due to unexpected delays he had to obtain an extension of my temporary visa in order to meet the filing deadline.  That cost a couple hundred dollars extra in attorney fee and temporary visa extension fees. The U.S. State Department unexpectedly and inappropriately refused me an apostille of my criminal background record and that took months to sort out because of overseas mailing times;  that's just an example of the type of delays that are exacerbated if you don't get pro-active early.

cccmedia, investment visa holder, Quito

wlae84 wrote:

Rather, they attached a secretary of state form to the degree and stamped that form.

Is this OK?

Acknowledging ccc's point that none of us can see the form, and that we are not visa attorneys, I'll tell you this:

I had documents appostilled in Illinois and Arizona. In both cases, the apostille was on a separate form attached to the document in question. Both were accepted in Ecuador.