Legalization of US Documents Got Easier

I remember the headache I went through, with many others, back in 2009-2010 when I had to get my university diploma authenticated for the work permit.  Back in mid-2010, it was an expensive and time consuming process.  Before, the Vietnamese Embassy wanted all documents that were notarized in your state to be authenticated by the State Department.  No more.  See below:

LEGALIZATION OF US DOCUMENTS

Any document issued/certified/or norarized by US authorities or notaries public should be legalized by Vietnamese competent authorities, before bringing into Vietnam for use.

Documents requested to be legalized can be submitted in person or by mail to the Consulate.

1. Documents include:

–  01 Letter of request for legalization

– Documents need to be legalized: The document(s) should be authenticated by a relevant State- Level Secretary of State or by the Office of Authentication of the Ministry of Foreign Affaires*.

* Note:

The documents, which have not been authenticated by a relevant State-Level Secretary of State or by the Office of Authentication of the Ministry of Foreign Affaires, will be considered as ineligible and returned, even if they have been issued/certified/or notarized by a county clerk, court clerk, notary public or other U.S. authorities.

Source: http://www.vietnamconsulate-sf.org/en/consular-services/legal-of-us-document/

This will help save a lot of money in the authentication process.  I really like how the Vietnamese Embassy/Consulate cut off the State Department in the process.  I figure I will save about $70 US (including FedEx shipping fees) with the new rules.  It should also only take 2-3 weeks to get your documents legalized and sent to Vietnam for processing.

Another reason to like the “new” Vietnam. Yes guys, my attitude about Vietnam and the people is more positive these days.  That is the way it should be. (^_^)