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November 5, 2016

Affidavit of Citizenship

Filed under: Affidavits,Popular on Facebook (some) — Tags: — admin @ 9:52 am

What is an Affidavit of Citizenship?
The Affidavit of Citizenship is a common legal form that is required by immigration services in some cases. Many people need to get an Affidavit of Citizenship Notarized. This document is normally notarized using the Notary act called a Jurat which requires a sworn oath.

Terminology:

Jurat — a type of Notarization that involves a Sworn Oath where the Notary must sign before the Notary Public.
Affiant — the person or individual who swears under Oath perhaps before a Judge or Notary Public.
Affirmation — For those who do not believe in swearing under Oath, many states allow them to Affirm that information is correct while under Oath.
Oath — a solemn Notary act where the signer (who is also the Affiant) raises their right hand and swears under Oath to the truthfulness of the document, or just makes up their own Oath wording for a particular official purpose or commission.
Affidavit — a document (perhaps a legal document) which requires an Affiant to swear under Oath before a Notary to have it notarized.

Drafting an Affidavit of Citizenship
Most Notaries are not authorized to draft legal documents. It is prudent to contact an Attorney or or someone authorized to draft documents. If you appear before a Notary and ask for a notarized Affidavit of Citizenship, the Notary will ask you to present the document to him/her. If you don’t have a document and expect the Notary to write it, you are wasting the Notary’s time. It might not even be legal for a Notary to draft such a document as they are not an Attorney in most cases. So, have a professional draft up a quick document for you, perhaps at a low-cost legal center. After the document is complete — then contact a notary.

Notarizing an Affidavit of Citizenship
A sample wording for an Affidavit of Citizenship might be —

“I, Joe Smith solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States of America, so help me God.”
Signature of Affiant _____________________

The Notary could attach a Jurat certificate to the document with this statement. The Notary would ask the signer to raise his/her right hand and swear under Oath to the truthfulness of the statement. Then the Notary would fill in the Jurat form, sign it, and stamp it with his/her official Notary Seal. The Notary needs to be paid whatever the state regulated Notary fee is for a Jurat. Additionally, many Notaries engage in traveling Notary work and should be paid a travel fee, plus waiting time if applicable.

Can the Affidavit of Support be in Spanish?
Official legal documents filed in the United States should be written in English unless you have written permission to write it in Spanish or another language.

Giving Legal Advice
A non-Attorney may not give legal advice. Most Notaries are not Attorneys and therefore may not give legal advice. Additionally, Notaries Public are not authorized to assist in the immigration process or give advice regarding immigration. If you have a legal quesiton or an immigration question, do not ask a Notary, rather, ask an authorized person such as an immigration official, Attorney, or perhaps someone authorized in a legal support profession at a law office if applicable.

What are some other notarized immigration documents or regular documents?
The Affidavit of Support is another commonly notarized immigration document. It states that a particular individual will take care of the sponsored individual in financial and other ways. Basically, a family member can attempt to assist another family member enter the United States by signing an Affidavit of Support. In addition to immigration documents, it is common for Notaries to notarize permission for minors to travel outside of the United States with an adult. Deeds, contracts, Power of Attorney, other types of Affidavits, Name Affidavits, Titles, and other types of documents are regularly notarized as well.

Where can I find a Notary to notarize my Affidavit of Support?
Right here on 123notary.com’s advanced search page! You can find a Spanish speaking Notary by using the language filter on the upper right corner of the search results after you have searched by zip code.

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You might also like:

Modern Family – an affidavit of citizenship & affidavit of domicile notarized
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10989

2011 version of Affidavit of Citizenship
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2028

Index of information about documents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20258

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November 2, 2016

How can I get a Spanish language document notarized?

How can I get a Spanish language document notarized?
Some states require that the Notary Public understand the contents of the document. If a document is in Spanish, then some states would require the Notary to be able to read the document in Spanish, etc. Other states require that the Notary speak the language of the signer so that they could have direct communication without the necessity of a translator.

How do I get a Spanish language document notarized?
How do you get a Spanish document notarized? On 123notary.com, you can find Notaries in any state that can notarize any type of document for you including foreign language documents. Just visit the advanced search page and look up by zip code.

California requires direct communication
In California, the Notary must be able to communicate directly with the signer. So, if the signer only speaks Spanish, please make sure your Notary speaks impeccable Spanish.

Immigration Questions
Notaries are not permitted to assist or advise in immigration matters unless they are specifically authorized to do so. Please direct your immigration questions to the proper authorities.

Notaries are generally not Attorneys
Please do not confuse the office of Notary Public with powers associated with Attorneys. In Latin America, a Notario Publico has an elevated position that is similar in many ways to being an Attorney, while in the United States, Notaries can only notarize documents, give Oaths, and not give legal advice. So, please direct your legal questions to a licensed Attorney.

Drafting Documents
Please do not rely on a Notary to draft your documents for you. Notaries are generally not authorized to draft legal documents or advise you on how to draft them. Please have a legal support center or Attorney draft your documents before calling a Notary.

Find a Notary on 123notary.com!
Just visit the advanced search page on 123notary.com and look up by city, county, or zip code. Then, use the Spanish language filter at the top of the search results to filter your results.

You might also like:

How do I find a Spanish speaking notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18824

Identification requirements for being notarized
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4299

Find a Notary Public on 123notary!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4688

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November 1, 2016

Can you charge a 2nd trip fee?

Filed under: Notary Fees & Pricing — Tags: , — admin @ 11:29 pm

Technically, Notaries can charge a 2nd trip fee. You get paid for what you do, right? But, signing companies are not always willing to pay for this. If the Notary made an error, the Notary should go back for free. But, if the Title company or Lender made a mistake, they will expect you to go back out and then often try not to pay you.

You need to keep accurate records of who paid for what job and with what check number. Signing companies send lots of checks out, but the record keeping system is based on the check number. They’ll try to sleeze out of paying you by referencing a check number.

Paypal is a nice way to pay for things because the records are queriable and you can mention what job or jobs you are paying for. That way, after the fact, you can quickly verify that you in fact were paid.

Another question is — should you stand your ground to collect that 2nd trip fee? If you have a good client, do they deserve a favor from time to time? Or are your fees by the book with no special gestures? If they need a second trip from time to time and they are a good company, then I might do it. But, if they are always late paying you and taking liberties, then perhaps not. You have to calculate this on your own. But, a good client is worth gold, so try to be nice to them in their hour of need.

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You might also like:

A comprehensive guide to Notary Pricing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16504

Many Notaries who wouldn’t leave the house for <$125 are working for peanuts http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14953

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