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I need to apply for OCI for my US Citizen Child at CGI Toronto. In checklist it says endorsed birth certificate. But US Embassy doesn't provide this service. Anyone who applied for US citizen child for OCI please help.
Hi All,

Did anyone get the right direction for this? My Son is US born and we are applying for OCI from Toronto. The BLS team doesn't have any clue about who should attest his birth certificate. They informed us to go to service Ontario for birth certificate attestation. But service Ontario informed us they will not attest USA documents. We are really stuck on who/where/how the birth certificate should be attested. If anyone has information regarding this, Please share.
 
Hi All,

Did anyone get the right direction for this? My Son is US born and we are applying for OCI from Toronto. The BLS team doesn't have any clue about who should attest his birth certificate. They informed us to go to service Ontario for birth certificate attestation. But service Ontario informed us they will not attest USA documents. We are really stuck on who/where/how the birth certificate should be attested. If anyone has information regarding this, Please share.


It was a struggle for me to apply for an OCI in Canada for my child born in the US; thought I'll provide some clarity here for anyone who is interested.

For a child born in the US and when applying for an OCI with BLS in Canada, you will need to provide a copy of the original US birth certificate apostilled by the Secretary of State from the state where your child was born. All other requirements stay the same as a child born in Canada - all photocopies and no originals required.
 
It was a struggle for me to apply for an OCI in Canada for my child born in the US; thought I'll provide some clarity here for anyone who is interested.

For a child born in the US and when applying for an OCI with BLS in Canada, you will need to provide a copy of the original US birth certificate apostilled by the Secretary of State from the state where your child was born. All other requirements stay the same as a child born in Canada - all photocopies and no originals required.

If you Google (your child’s birth state) + secretary of state + apostille, it should get you the result in the top two hits. In my case, I had to send the original birth certificate + credit card info + return label and I got the apostille back on the third working day.
 
If you Google (your child’s birth state) + secretary of state + apostille, it should get you the result in the top two hits. In my case, I had to send the original birth certificate + credit card info + return label and I got the apostille back on the third working day.
Thanks a lot Snapheed!! I will check with Secretary of state on this.
 
Hi Snapheed,

I got the apostille for my Son from Connecticut State Secretary. But the apostille is a separate document stapled above his Birth certificate just mentioning the following statement
"In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of Connecticut, at Hartford"

The apostille is neither mentioning anything about my Son's name nor has any reference to the birth certificate. Is this the way you also got apostille? if yes, did BLS accept it?
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Snapheed,

I got the apostille for my Son from Connecticut State Secretary. But the apostille is a separate document stapled above his Birth certificate just mentioning the following statement
"In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of Connecticut, at Hartford"

The apostille is neither mentioning anything about my Son's name nor has any reference to the birth certificate. Is this the way you also got apostille? if yes, did BLS accept it?
Thanks in advance.

You can search for what a connecticut apostille looks like. It will say Apostille at the top. And it is a separate piece of paper, attached physically.
 
Hi Snapheed,

I got the apostille for my Son from Connecticut State Secretary. But the apostille is a separate document stapled above his Birth certificate just mentioning the following statement
"In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of Connecticut, at Hartford"

The apostille is neither mentioning anything about my Son's name nor has any reference to the birth certificate. Is this the way you also got apostille? if yes, did BLS accept it?
Thanks in advance.
Yes - just send a copy of both the birth certificate and the apostille along with the rest of the documents.
 
If you Google (your child’s birth state) + secretary of state + apostille, it should get you the result in the top two hits. In my case, I had to send the original birth certificate + credit card info + return label and I got the apostille back on the third working day.
This is informative. What should we select into "select the country to which document(s) will be presented*" - Is it India or Canada?
I'm getting this question on New Jersey website, Can you provide your input on this?
 
This is informative. What should we select into "select the country to which document(s) will be presented*" - Is it India or Canada?
I'm getting this question on New Jersey website, Can you provide your input on this?
I had the same question for Connecticut.
I mentioned it as 'Canada'
 
This is informative. What should we select into "select the country to which document(s) will be presented*" - Is it India or Canada?
I'm getting this question on New Jersey website, Can you provide your input on this?
India - you're submitting the application to the Indian authorities. Also, Canada is not a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention.
 
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India - you're submitting the application to the Indian authorities. Also, Canada is not a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention.
Thanks for prompt response.
 
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Awesome- Thank god i found this blog. It really helped and appreciate all of you who have shared your experiences and guidance for folks like me who are new to this scenario.
Anyways my 2 cents : there is a 3rd party service provider “VitalChek” who is handling these kind of services - especially in my case i want a birth certificate document and on top of it apostille from SOS… so they charged me ~ 60$ for both, of-course its bit extra pricey as they will incur their service charges: But felt like a hassle free process via online / Call.
 
For apostille do we have to do an original copy of a notarized photo copy of the birth certificate. E.g. I got 5 original copies from county office for birth certificate. Do I do apostille on one of them or do a photocopy, notarize it and apostille that notarized photocopy?
 
For apostille do we have to do an original copy of a notarized photo copy of the birth certificate. E.g. I got 5 original copies from county office for birth certificate. Do I do apostille on one of them or do a photocopy, notarize it and apostille that notarized photocopy?

send the original birth certificate to the state and request an apostille. Once you get it back, do a photocopy of both the birth certificate and the apostille and submit with rest of the documents.