lazyant

Hello,

I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both say that they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of an original; they only notarize your signature.

A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by myself stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature notarized.

This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply to this post:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...threadid=95766

any further suggestions?

thanks.

Golmal

Did you show the original document to them? I've had this experience before but when I showed the original document and persuaded them a bit, they notarized its copy as a true copy of the original.

Golmal

lazyant

yes, I brought the originals, but they had never heard about notarizing copies.

thanks anyway, maybe I'll find a "seal-happy" notary...

sysclp

Did you try your local bank? They always have someone there who can notarize things, usually for free if you have an account there. I had things notarized at my bank in the US as true copies with no problem. Usually the notary is just one of the tellers so they will notarize anything.

Tamilan

Do you want to try at the Post office? It is easy they will do as certified copy.


Golmal wrote in message news:...
    > Did you show the original document to them? I've had this experience
    > before but when I showed the original document and persuaded them a bit,
    > they notarized its copy as a true copy of the original.
    >
    > Golmal
    >
    >
    >
    > Originally posted by lazyant
    > > Hello,
    > >
    > > I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both say
    > > that they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of
    > > an original; they only notarize your signature.
    > >
    > > A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by myself
    > > stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature notarized.
    > >
    > > This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply to
    > > this post:
    > > ]http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...?threadid=957-
    > > 66[/url]
    > >
    > > any further suggestions?
    > >
    > thanks.

Bryan Kellar

Hello there!

"lazyant" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hello,
    > I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both say that
    > they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of an
    > original; they only notarize your signature.

A US notary is nothing like the Canadian professional of the same name.
Depending upon the state, to become a notary, you need to submit to the
state some combination of 1) an application, 2) an application fee, 3)
perhaps an open book test that shows that you have read the applicable
rules, and 4) perhaps a fidelity bond. Most notaries do so for their
employer, and most are mostly familiar with the function of witnessing a
signature and not any of the other things a notary public might do. In many
cases, if you ask them to certify a document, they may simply not be
familiar with the procedure.

Try to find a person who actually advertises themselves to be a notary
public (maybe in the Yellow Pages?). Certifying copies of documents is one
of their functions -- but sprprisingly, I have met a few who don't know how.

Bryan
(Formerly a notary public in Oregon, until the year I didn't bother sending
in the $30.00 fee and buying a new stamper)

    > A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by myself
    > stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature notarized.
    > This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply to
    > this post:
    > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...threadid=95766
    > any further suggestions?
    > thanks.

pnb

I had my local bank manager notarize my signature on the copies. That was sufficient for Quebec immigration. During the evaluation process and the interview (I was granted CSQ, BTW) the officer didnt seem to have any issues with this kind of "notarization". So, you should be ok with the notary certifying your signature on the copy.

Web_guru2003

This happend to me to. I went to my bank (as they offer free notary
service to their account holders) and officer said that I cant certify
the copies but i can only certify a statement that you write and sign
about these copies. So i wrote "TRUE COPY" on each copy and siged my
statement and office actually Notorized my statement and signature.

I have already got the File number and with this i assume that the
procedure i followed was right (or atleast acceptable) for consulate
authorities.

lazyant wrote in message news:...
    > Hello,
    >
    > I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both say that
    > they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of an
    > original; they only notarize your signature.
    >
    > A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by myself
    > stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature notarized.
    >
    > This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply to
    > this post:
    > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...threadid=95766
    >
    > any further suggestions?
    >
    > thanks.

Golmal

Should the document with your attested signature be found counterfeit at a later stage, the CIC would terminate your PR file, besides take any other legal actions. So, in my opinion, getting your signature attested is as good as getting the document notarized. Experts please shed more light, if my interpretation isn't accurate.

Golmal

Andrew Miller

It most likely happened because original poster brought already made copies
to be notarized. Originals must be taken to the lawyer or notary where such
makes copies and only then certifies them as "true copies".

--

../..

Andrew Miller
Immigration Consultant
Vancouver, British Columbia
email: [email protected]
(delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
________________________________


"Golmal" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Should the document with your attested signature be found counterfeit at
    > a later stage, the CIC would terminate your PR file, besides take any
    > other legal actions. So, in my opinion, getting your signature attested
    > is as good as getting the document notarized. Experts please shed more
    > light, if my interpretation isn't accurate.
    > Golmal
    > Originally posted by Web_guru2003
    > > This happend to me to. I went to my bank (as they offer free notary
    > > service to their account holders) and officer said that I cant certify
    > > the copies but i can only certify a statement that you write and sign
    > > about these copies. So i wrote "TRUE COPY" on each copy and siged my
    > > statement and office actually Notorized my statement and signature.
    > >
    > > I have already got the File number and with this i assume that the
    > > procedure i followed was right (or atleast acceptable) for consulate
    > > authorities.
    > >
    > > lazyant wrote in message news:news:...
    > > > Hello,
    > > >
    > > > I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both
    > > say that
    > > > they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of
    > > an
    > > > original; they only notarize your signature.
    > > >
    > > > A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by
    > > myself
    > > > stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature
    > > notarized.
    > > >
    > > > This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply
    > > to
    > > > this post:
    > > > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...p?threadid=95-
    > > 766"]http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=95766-
    > > [/url]
    > > >
    > > > any further suggestions?
    > > >
    > > thanks.
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

lazyant

Thank you all for your input, I'll try to find another notary or have my statement and signature notarized.

In my case the fact that I had or not the copies already made didn't matter, as both notaries had no idea of what I was talking about; they just only notarize signatures, either if it's because of a state law or by ignorance.

thanks again.

Tamilan

All you have to do is take the original and they will do the
photocopying for you. They prefer it that way as they can make sure
that the photocopying is not altered by anyway. As mentioned earlier
most banks do it for freem, if you are a account holder. Postoffices
do it for some fee.
They don't care what you bring to them, they will make a photocopy of
it and cerify that it's an exact copy of the orginal you showed them.
They will ask for a photo identification and they will require you to
sign a log book ( this is the postoffice). In bank they dont care
about it, as you are an account holder.
Good luck.


lazyant wrote in message news:...
    > Thank you all for your input, I'll try to find another notary or have my
    > statement and signature notarized.
    >
    > In my case the fact that I had or not the copies already made didn't
    > matter, as both notaries had no idea of what I was talking about; they
    > just only notarize signatures, either if it's because of a state law or
    > by ignorance.
    >
    > thanks again.

Gus

On Wed, 21 May 2003 20:34:19 +0000, lazyant
wrote:

    >Hello,
    >I went to two different public notaries in the US and they both say that
    >they don't notarize or certify that a document is a true copy of an
    >original; they only notarize your signature.
    >A lawyer here suggested that I attached a letter written by myself
    >stating that the copy is true, and then have my signature notarized.
    >This is more or less what Mr. Miller suggested in his reply to
    >this post:
    >http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...threadid=95766
    >any further suggestions?
    >thanks.

I went to Mailboxes ETC. (now called the UPSStore). They made copies
of the originals and even had a form that they attached to it saying
it was a true copy of the original which they notorized. Try calling a
few of them in the phone book until you find one that knows what
they're doing. It took me 2 calls.