Registration of US Marriage W/ Brazilian Consulate

[bslsailor 0]

I think I just figured out the problem -

I checked the Mississippi Dept. of State Website -

The State of Mississippi has no procedure that will allow Notary Certification by county.

All Certifications are done by the Mississippi Secretary of State Office.

They will issue an Apostille or Authentication for $2.00 by mail.

this form is expressly issued for a foreign country.

I just emailed the Consulate to see if they will accept. Haven't quite figured out

the difference between an Apostille or Authentication yet, but I'm feeling a lot less frustrated now.

John

[mlybrand 0]

I think I just figured out the problem -

I checked the Mississippi Dept. of State Website -

The State of Mississippi has no procedure that will allow Notary Certification by county.

All Certifications are done by the Mississippi Secretary of State Office.

They will issue an Apostille or Authentication for $2.00 by mail.

this form is expressly issued for a foreign country.

I just emailed the Consulate to see if they will accept. Haven't quite figured out

the difference between an Apostille or Authentication yet, but I'm feeling a lot less frustrated now.

John

Don't worry about it. Let the Secretary of State put the right one (at least that is how it works here in WA). If they can't figure it out, ask the Brazilian consulate which they accept (some countries accept one, some the other ... as I mentioned before, I found out that Colombia takes apostilles, but Peru takes Authentications ... go figure).

Mark

[bslsailor 0]

Thanks, Mark -

that's what I ran across when started researching Mississippi Notaries.

The local county Clerk didn't know about about MS Dept. State Certifications, only she couldn't do it.

NYCBRA -

Brazilian Consulates have jurisdictions - God forbid you go to another one !

http://www.brazilhouston.org/ingles/jurisdic.htm

I used to fall under Miami, however since the new Consulate opened in Atlanta, I must go there.

If I lived just 13 miles West of my location I would be under Louisiana's jurisdiction and go to the Houston Consulate.

Edited September 3, 2009 by bslsailor

[mlybrand 0]

The local county Clerk didn't know about about MS Dept. State Certifications, only she couldn't do it.

Sometimes you just gotta wonder!! You would think the county clerk would know something like this. Oh well, it's all good if it works out in the end

Mark

[joeyjoey 1]

Thanks, JoeyJoye -

Mississippi used to fall under the jurisdiction of Miami.

We now "belong" to Atlanta, which opened about 2 months ago.

Appreciate your experiences with the other Consulates around the USA -

So you didn't get any certification other than the notary stamp?

I'm asking before I fire off another email to the Atlanta Consulate, trying to keep this from escalating

into a Pi$$ing contest which I'm sure to lose

If anyone has gotten a County Clerk Certification did they just "Certify" the notary?

The only Notary seal we got was at the Consulate here in Houston. The original marriage certificate was a certified copy with raised seal. We got that from the Clerk of Court after we were married. You did get a Certified copy of your Marriage License/Certificate? We had our marriage certificate translated into Portuguese by the Brazilian Consulate here in Houston. When we went to Brazil, we took it to a Cartorio and they accepted it, entered into the records there. Now we have 2 Marriage Certificates - Brazilian and American!

[bslsailor 0]

Yes, we have a number Certified Marriage Certificates, knowing they would be needed.

I wouldn't expect the local County Clerk to be knowledgeable about Brazilian documentation

however I would think the Brazilian Consulate would know about the State in their jurisdiction.

I'll update the situation when I get a response from the Atlanta Consulate, they have been

taking a couple of days to respond to past emails.

John

[mlybrand 0]

I wouldn't expect the local County Clerk to be knowledgeable about Brazilian documentation

however I would think the Brazilian Consulate would know about the State in their jurisdiction.

I WOULD expect them to be aware of the state's apostille program. Every state has one and it is common knowledge, especially for folks in their line of work. That is what I meant.

Mark

[bslsailor 0]

Got an answer back from the Atlanta Consulate (sort of)

After a short explanation that there is no procedure to Certify by County Clerk in Mississippi

I asked -

"Will you accept a Apostille or Authentication issued by the Mississippi Secretary of State Office?"

There complete email answer -

"yes"

SOooo, I'll take it as they prefer an Apostille and it's off to the Mississippi Secretary of State

with my $2.00 check in the mail.

[mlybrand 0]

Got an answer back from the Atlanta Consulate (sort of)

After a short explanation that there is no procedure to Certify by County Clerk in Mississippi

I asked -

"Will you accept a Apostille or Authentication issued by the Mississippi Secretary of State Office?"

There complete email answer -

"yes"

SOooo, I'll take it as they prefer an Apostille and it's off to the Mississippi Secretary of State

with my $2.00 check in the mail.

If you haven't sent it yet, you might want to see if Mississippi can tell whether Brazil wants apostille or authentication. Here in WA, they have a big binder that tells them such things. The Tennessee SOS office, however, instructed me to find out...

Mark

[bslsailor 0]

Already sent it in. went with the Apostille request....

I'll update in a couple of weeks

[NycBra 4]

I stopped by to check your case.

Once you get the letter back with the apostille/authentication, and next time you go to the consulate again, make sure to bring a copy of the email where they responded "yes".... just to be safe ;-)

Good luck! I have my fingers crossed for you.

[mlybrand 0]

Aw man! When I saw this thread pop back up, I thought blsailor was going to be giving us good news. Now I have to go away and sulk some more and fret and worry over my own case. Thanks a lot

Mark

[bslsailor 0]

Updating ...... and a new question .....

Got the Apostille back from the Mississippi Secretary of State office -

Its a very cool looking document with a huge gold seal..

Have an appointment with the Atlanta consulate Late October, however they have thrown

in a new demand...err requirement of obtaining a new Brazilian Birth Certificated to be dated

within 6 months..... which we are now working on.

and yes, I'm saving all my emails to bring along, however somehow don't think they would impress anyone

there if there is a contradiction

There's the 64 Dollar Question -

What's the advantage of going thru all of this???

I have a American friend in Brazil telling me there is no advantage to me, only possible drawbacks-

anyone, anyone Bueller?

[NycBra 4]

Hey bsailor,

I just received an update from this topic and I decided to reply right away.

Regarding the birth certificate, yes, I did that as well. I think I mentioned that on one of my first messages here. I had to ask my mom to get a new copy in Brazil and send it to me.

As if it is worthy, for me it is because I used the translated marriage certificate issued by the consulate to register my marriage in Brazil.

If you and your wife don't plan to register your marriage in Brazil, then it is not worthy.

And why $64? I didn't remember having to pay that fee...

Edit: just adding... my husband and I have plans to live in Brazil for few years later on. It will be helpful to have a marriage certificate in portuguese that will be accepted there.

And even don't living there, I still have some accounts and need to update others. Now I had to update as married and I needed to show a marriage certificate. After obtaining the Consulate certificate in Portuguese, I was able to register my marriage at a ' cartorio ' , and it is now a public record and easier to access if I need that information later on.

I don't know if that makes sense for you.

Edited September 18, 2009 by nycbra

[bslsailor 0]

Hey bsailor,

And why $64? I didn't remember having to pay that fee...

An American Slang Expression

There was a famous and popular TV Game show years ago, The 64,000 Question

The show started with a simple question that awarded the contestant one dollar.

Each correct answer doubled the prize, ending with a with the $64,000 question

In the end it was discovered the show was rigged and the most poplar show at the time was

taken off the air.

I think 2 or 3 years ago an entertaining movie was made about it. You can also Google it.

The phrase "The 64 Dollar Question" became slang for a particularly difficult question or problem.