[sammy78]

It's me again.....with questions about the CoC! It was suggested that the documents listed on the N600 be sent as PHOTOCOPIES with a notarized statement on them indicating that they are "true copies" and that one will produce originals on request. How does one go about certifying that copies are true copies? Sorry about all the questions, but the USCIS has given us such a hard time throughout the adoption I don't want to give them a reason to drag their feet again!

As always, TIA!

Laurie

[DD Amasa]

Just type up and attach an Affidavit stating that "I (your name) state that the attached is a true and accurate copy of the original (name/date of document), and sign it before a notary. You have to have possession of the original document and be the one to have made the copy for the Affidavit to be valid.

[dspakowsky]

Our notary had their own little blurb they wrote saying "they've seen the original and this is a true copy..." I just asked the bank notary and she knew what I needed.

[Pipercub]

Yes - what DDamasa said.

*More information than you probably want, but may be helpful if you run into a notary that doesn't want to notarize your document:


A notarized copy of a document with a statement by you that it is a "true copy" is completely different than a "certified copy" - and it confuses some notaries. (Some may refuse to notarize your copies.) Here is the difference between the two and why it sometimes confuses them:

A "Certified Copy" is a copy of a document that is either 1) a govt issued document certified by the same office that issued it as an accurate, complete copy or 2) any regular document that a notary themselves makes a copy of and certifies is accurate. You're familiar with #1 - you probably had to get certified copies of your birth certificates, marriage license etc from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, county clearks, etc. With regard to #2, in the case of it being a regular (non-government) document that the notary is making a certified copy, the wording reads that the NOTARY CERTIFIES that is a complete, accurate copy. Notaries are not allowed to make certified copies of many govt issued documents (Passports, birth certificates, etc). Only the government office that issued the original document can issue a certified copy. Sometimes if you do the statement below (true copy) on a photocopy of a govt document, they get confused and think the wording is for a certified copy. They know they aren't allowed to make certified copies of some govt documents and may refuse to notarize it for you.

Which is where "true copies" come into play. For some things, you do not need to get a "certified copy" - a copy that is sworn to be a "true copy" is enough. In this case YOU SWEAR (NOTthe notary) with an affidavit statement that you have made a accurate, true copy of the document. The notary is not attesting to the validity of the document. The notary is only attesting that you swore to your statement and then signed the affidavit in front of them.

All that to say - if you run into a notary that won't notarize a "true copy" affidavit of a govt document, find another notary. They aren't familiar with the difference between the two situations, but you probably aren't going to be able to convince them otherwise. (Speaking from experience here - I went through three notaries before I found someone to notarize true copies of our passports! When I went to the notary department at the Secretary of States office, she said that's a common problem. Hopefully it won't happen to you, but if it does, you'll at least be reassured you aren't asking the notary to do something they can't. I didn't know that when I ran into this problem and I couldn't figure out why my agency was asking me to get something done that notaries couldn't do! LOL) Good luck!

[sammy78]

Thanks, y'all - I don't know what I'd do w/o you! (And I too have run into some less-than-knowledgeable notaries, so thanks for the lesson in certified vs. true copies!)

Laurie