The 13th Apostle

So apparently Argentina has this silly idea that they want to tax me for the income I earn working in their country, which means I need to get a work visa. And to get a work visa, I need to get a background check. And then I need to get that apostled.

Ok, not that type of apostle. This is actually "apostilling" documents which, besides being something that no one has ever heard of, is some sort of fancy international notary so countries will accept other countries legal documents. Our good friends at the Hague created this idea in 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents which should have been called Convention for Creating Beauracracy and Promoting Silly Certificates.

So here's the streamlined process for getting my background check signed, sealed and delivered to me in BA:

1. Get fingerprints taken by very unhappy woman at the office
2. Get my credit card payment slip notarized (just good ole regular notary)
3. Send request to FBI
4. Wait 3-4 weeks
5. Have FBI send background check to my parents (thanks mom and dad)
6. Calm my parents after they read my background check
7. Have parents send the background check to the Department of State
8. Wait 2-3 weeks
9. Have the Department of State send the apostilled background check to my parents
10. Have my parents send it down to me in BA!

There, ten simple steps that only has to be repeated once more for my birth certificates!