| According to several nationally recognized studies | | | | Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, |
| there are more than 600,000 international | | | | Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, and Jamaica. |
| students studying in the United States today. | | | | Other countries include Jordan, Kenya, Korea, |
| Translating to nearly 4% of all students enrolled in | | | | Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, |
| U.S. educational institutions will be from | | | | Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, |
| international decent. | | | | Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nauru, |
| This staggering growth leaves one industry bound | | | | Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, |
| for exceptional growth, the Apostille industry. An | | | | Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine Mission (PLO), |
| Apostille is defined as a documentation legalization | | | | Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi |
| service. | | | | Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, |
| Apostille is a French word which means | | | | Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan , |
| certification. In English it is used to refer to the | | | | Tanzania , Thailand , Togo, Tunisia , Turkmenistan, |
| legalization of a document for international use. On | | | | United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uganda, Uruguay, |
| October 5, 1961 several nations joined to create | | | | Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, |
| this simplified method of legalizing documents | | | | and Zimbabwe. |
| through the Hague Convention Abolishing the | | | | The demand for such services is increasing as the |
| requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public | | | | number of international students continues to |
| Documents. | | | | skyrocket in the U.S. and abroad. Everything from |
| Documents that are certified with a conformant | | | | a marriage certificate to a power of attorney can |
| apostille are accepted for legal use in all the | | | | be legalized internationally by Apostille companies. |
| nations that have signed the Hague Convention | | | | Typical costs range from $100 to $200 for the |
| Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for | | | | full legalization of a document, including shipping. |
| Foreign Public Documents. | | | | Most students throughout their college careers |
| Member countries of the Hague convention include | | | | require several copies of official transcripts, along |
| Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, | | | | with other important documents like degrees, |
| Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, | | | | statements of study major, not to mention |
| Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and | | | | medical records. Contrary to popular belief, just |
| Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, | | | | because a document is issued from a major |
| Bulgaria, China (Macau), China (Hong Kong), | | | | university or hospital does not make it recognized |
| Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech | | | | worldwide. This is why Apostille documentation |
| Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, | | | | services have become so popular. |
| Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, | | | | International students are often granted entry to |
| Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, | | | | the U.S. through temporary student visa passes, |
| India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, | | | | and thus will be forced to return to their native |
| Korea, Republic of, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, | | | | country after completing their studies. |
| Liechtenstein, and Lithuania. | | | | Returning home without having the proper |
| Other member countries include Luxembourg, | | | | documents legalized can be cause for concern. |
| Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, | | | | Apostille services relieve the concerns of |
| Moldova, Republic of, Monaco, Namibia, | | | | international students that will need their degrees, |
| Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Panama, | | | | and important documents legalized for world wide |
| Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and | | | | acceptance. |
| Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the | | | | An Apostille service will legalize most documents |
| Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia and | | | | like driver licenses, medical records, educational |
| Montenegro, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South | | | | degrees and transcripts for members of the |
| Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, | | | | Hague Convention Treaty. For those wanting |
| Switzerland, FYR of Macedonia, Tonga, Trinidad | | | | documents legalized that come from other |
| and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, | | | | countries not among the Hague Convention |
| United States of America, and Venezuela. | | | | Treaty nations, Embassy Legalization service can |
| In countries which are not signatories to the 1961 | | | | be used. |
| Convention and do not recognize the apostille, the | | | | In the ever changing global economy, the rules of |
| document must have an Embassy Legalization | | | | engagement are changing for international |
| from which the document is issued. | | | | students. Often they can obtain their education in |
| Typical embassies from which Embassy | | | | the U.S. and return home to a distinguished job in |
| Legalization services can be transacted include | | | | their native country; utilizing new technology to be |
| Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, | | | | anywhere and everywhere the company needs |
| Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, | | | | them to be. |
| Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape | | | | However, regardless of where one is working, if |
| Verde, Chad, Chile, China, People's Republic of, | | | | an international student does not have their |
| Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, | | | | documents legalized, all can be for not, as many |
| Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Egypt, | | | | countries require document legalization in order to |
| Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, | | | | recognize such documents as a college degree. |