Factsheet, Page 3
AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:
Paraguay is not a party of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, so the Legalization Convention “apostille” certificate should not be used for documents to be presented in Paraguay.
Instead, the “chain authentication method” will be used to authenticate documents for Paraguay. This process involves seeking the proper authorities to attest to the validity of a succession of seals or signatures beginning with the seal on your document, proceeding to the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office, and ending with the seal of the Paraguay Embassy or Consulate in the United States.
Three Types of Documents for Authentication:
I. Civil Records and Notarized Documents: Civil Records (birth, death and marriage certificates) must be issued under the seal of the custodian of the state records. Certified true copies of civil records executed before a notary public are not acceptable to foreign governments. The appropriate official in the state government must authenticate civil records or notarized documents. This is usually in the state Secretary of State’s office. To locate this office in the state in which your document was issued, please see the National Association of State Secretaries of State, Notary Public Administrators Section.
State Court Records : Court documents must have an original signature by the judge and seal of the state court. The judge’s signature is then certified by the Clerk of the Court prior to being sent to the state Secretary of State’s office or other appropriate office for authentication of the seal of the state court. See the National Association of State Secretaries of State for information about how to contact the state office that will authenticate a seal on a state court record.
II. Federal Documents: These include documents such as certified copies of I-600As and I-600s, other documents from USCIS or other federal agencies other than the U.S. Department of State. To authenticate these documents, first obtain the seal of the agency that issued the documents. Then the documents must be submitted to the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office for use abroad. Finally, the Paraguayan Embassy can authenticate the seal of the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office (http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/ ). Information about replacing a Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization is available from U.S.C.I.S. Please see the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information about the need for original documents.
III. U.S. Department of State/Passport Records: These documents include Passport Records, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA), and Consular Reports of Death Abroad (CRDA). These are maintained by the U.S. Department of State Passport Office and must be authenticated there. Please see the Passport Service guidance on how to obtain authenticated copies of CRBAs and CRDAs. For information about how to obtain copies of U.S. passport records see the guidance on the Consular Affairs home page.
Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.
Credits: U.S. Department of State
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