Applying OCI for US Citizen from Toronto

[gprasad.n]

Hello,

I'm in the process of applying OCI to my son who's an American Citizen. BLS said that his US birth cert needs to have a notary from the US Embassy in Toronto. However, there are no appts open at this time. I got two different responses from the BLS each time I called.

Response 1: Get a notary then have it authenticated by Official Document Services, further get it attested at the Indian Embassy in Toronto and submit the attested document with the application.

Response 2: The birth cert needs to get apostilled.

Now I am not sure and in a great confusion, did anyone had this situation earlier and what was done?

TIA.

 

[vishu780]

Hello,

I'm in the process of applying OCI to my son who's an American Citizen. BLS said that his US birth cert needs to have a notary from the US Embassy in Toronto. However, there are no appts open at this time. I got two different responses from the BLS each time I called.

Response 1: Get a notary then have it authenticated by Official Document Services, further get it attested at the Indian Embassy in Toronto and submit the attested document with the application.

Response 2: The birth cert needs to get apostilled.

Now I am not sure and in a great confusion, did anyone had this situation earlier and what was done?

TIA.

Hello ,

I would suggest you to get the birth certificate apostilled , you can submit application through mail to the authorized authority from US state where the birth certificate was issued. I did it for NC and the process was very simple , you can check the process for your state. Once you get the apostille there is no need for any other attestation like notary etc.

Thanks
Vishal

 

[gprasad.n]

Hello ,

I would suggest you to get the birth certificate apostilled , you can submit application through mail to the authorized authority from US state where the birth certificate was issued. I did it for NC and the process was very simple , you can check the process for your state. Once you get the apostille there is no need for any other attestation like notary etc.

Thanks
Vishal

Thank you, Vishal. Appreciate your response. I have a few follow-up questions too.
Did you have to the apostille for the same OCI purposes?
When did you get the apostille, is it during recent times or pre-COVID?
How long did it take for the entire apostille process approximately?