Digitally sign a PDF

[rsn 135]

I came across this on LifeHacker. It is appears to be potentially useful for those who want to get their remotely located SO to fill in PDFs or even sign them. I haven't tried it but it sounds pretty cool and useful...

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I came across this on LifeHacker. It is appears to be potentially useful for those who want to get their remotely located SO to fill in PDFs or even sign them. I haven't tried it but it sounds pretty cool and useful...

No no no no no. A DIGITAL signature is like photocopying a signature. It will print differently. Trust me here as my work field uses them.

Do NOT EVER digitally sign any of the visa paperwork. It's fine for when copies are okay, but not when an original is requested. You run the risk of getting into trouble here.

[rsn 135]

No no no no no. A DIGITAL signature is like photocopying a signature. It will print differently. Trust me here as my work field uses them.

Do NOT EVER digitally sign any of the visa paperwork. It's fine for when copies are okay, but not when an original is requested. You run the risk of getting into trouble here.

What do you mean it will "print differently"? Print differently than what? A signature is a signature. As long as it is yours I see no reason why it is not acceptable. If you see USCIS's document regarding signatures, it simply says that an original signature is required. The link I cited allows users to sign documents in their own hand. That sounds like an original signature to me.

Please cite a source that prohibits signing of the document using your own hand in this method.

Edited February 5, 2010 by rsn

[Salsa Shark 0]

Sorry for being pedantic here, but electronic signatures != digital signatures. Big difference.

Regarding original signatures, I haven't had any problem with using a scanned GIF of my own. I think it depends on who handles your paperwork. A lot of people on here recommend signing in blue ink even though the instructions say that black ink should be used.

>shrug<

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Sorry for being pedantic here, but electronic signatures != digital signatures. Big difference.

Regarding original signatures, I haven't had any problem with using a scanned GIF of my own. I think it depends on who handles your paperwork. A lot of people on here recommend signing in blue ink even though the instructions say that black ink should be used.

>shrug<

People have gotten RFE's for original documents when the documents sent to USCIS appear to have been copied or scanned and printed, in the judgment of the adjudicator. If the signature looks like it was printed by the same printer that produced the document, the adjudicator could presume the document was a copy and not an original. The reason people recommend using blue ink (in spite of the fact that black ink is requested) is because they believe it reduces the likelihood that an adjudicator might presume that a document was a copy of the signed original, and not the signed original itself. I would think this would be even more true if the document were signed with felt pen, or other pen that doesn't leave an obvious impression on the paper.

The thing is that the legality of a document that contains your scanned signature can be questioned in court. If you were to deny having placed that image on the document, another party would be hard pressed to prove that you actually did. The process of manually applying your signature to a document with a pen will inseparably join the signature with the content of the document, giving the document legal weight - a concept called non-repudiation. A handwriting expert would be able to confirm that your hand created the signature on that specific document. With a scanned image of your signature, a handwriting expert could only confirm that your hand made the original signature, but he could not confirm that you applied the copy of the signature to the document.

In the end, it depends on how ####### a particular adjudicator wants to be. However, if you use the same GIF scan of your signature on all of your documents, I think it probably increases the odds that the adjudicator will know you never actually put pen to paper and signed the document, which is what they're looking for.

[rsn 135]

People have gotten RFE's for original documents when the documents sent to USCIS appear to have been copied or scanned and printed, in the judgment of the adjudicator. If the signature looks like it was printed by the same printer that produced the document, the adjudicator could presume the document was a copy and not an original. The reason people recommend using blue ink (in spite of the fact that black ink is requested) is because they believe it reduces the likelihood that an adjudicator might presume that a document was a copy of the signed original, and not the signed original itself. I would think this would be even more true if the document were signed with felt pen, or other pen that doesn't leave an obvious impression on the paper.

The thing is that the legality of a document that contains your scanned signature can be questioned in court. If you were to deny having placed that image on the document, another party would be hard pressed to prove that you actually did. The process of manually applying your signature to a document with a pen will inseparably join the signature with the content of the document, giving the document legal weight - a concept called non-repudiation. A handwriting expert would be able to confirm that your hand created the signature on that specific document. With a scanned image of your signature, a handwriting expert could only confirm that your hand made the original signature, but he could not confirm that you applied the copy of the signature to the document.

In the end, it depends on how ####### a particular adjudicator wants to be. However, if you use the same GIF scan of your signature on all of your documents, I think it probably increases the odds that the adjudicator will know you never actually put pen to paper and signed the document, which is what they're looking for.

This software allows you to use a mouse or writing pad to create an original signature for each PDF, so they wouldn't need to all be the same.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

This software allows you to use a mouse or writing pad to create an original signature for each PDF, so they wouldn't need to all be the same.

Yeah, that would eliminate the possibility that they'll know the signature is a digital reproduction by comparing it with signatures on other documents. However, it doesn't change the fact that each document will contain a digital reproduction of a signature, and not the actual signature itself. A close examination of the document would be able to confirm whether the signature was original or a digital reproduction.

To give you an example, if someone gave me a photocopy set of somebody else's petition package, I could scan the signatures on each document, and then fill out my own documents with completely different information, and then apply different copies of their signature to each document. The documents I produced would be indistinguishable from a digitally produced copy of a genuine set of documents. However, mine would be forgeries.