Legal Question in International Law in Colorado

Legally ''Apostilled'' Documents

I have successfully completed my course of studies via mail correspondence through a university in the United Kingdom (UK), and have been awarded, and received my official degree and transcript from the college. I turned my degree & transcript over to the Human Resources Unit of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT HR) in order to qualify for a promotion. CDOT HR has refused to accept the documents until I have them verified by an independent company within the United States. The college included information and instructions on how I can have my degree and transcript ''Apostilled'' for international use, which I have not done yet. CDOT HR has indicated that being ''Apostilled'' will not replace the additional needed verification from an independent company. If I have the documents ''Apostilled'' can CDOT HR still require additional verification? I have contacted the college and they stated that CDOT would be breaking federal law, and the International agreement by requiring additional verification. I have checked the U.S. State Department web site concerning this subject, and the way I interpret it is that the college is correct concerning the need for additional verification. What should be my next step?


Asked on 6/02/03, 10:59 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Daniel Press Chung & Press, P.C.

Re: Legally ''Apostilled'' Documents

There are two different issues here. The apostille authenticates the documents - establishes that they are genuine. That is probably not really what the CDOT cares about - they probably assume that and will even accept just the university's certification. What they care about is whether the degree you received there is equivalent to an American degree. Different countries have different educational systems, and what may appear to be a university Bachelors degree may be treated here as the equivalent of a high school diploma or an Associates (2-year college) degree. This equivalency determination is what they need, and that is a completely different determination from whether the paper you presented is real.

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Answered on 6/02/03, 11:32 am
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Legally ''Apostilled'' Documents

Background problem: there are a bunch of mail-away-degree outfits in the UK that basically award degrees that mean nothing other than that the conferee paid a fee. Thus, prudent employers in the USA require various means of ascertaining that the institution is accredited and that the conferee engaged in some bona fide course of study leading to the degree conferred.

The Apostille convention merely validates the genuineness of a document, and does not look to the substance of its contents. Thus, if the issue were that you had submitted an Apostilled certificate and the US party refused to admit its genuineness, you would have grounds to complain; my impression is that the US party admits that the copy is genuine but wants provenance as to its substance.

If the UK degree actually has substance, then the UK school should be happy to cooperate with the validation process.

Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 6/02/03, 11:36 am


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