Office of Authentications

"They held on to my document for 13 weeks, after I called them to ask for an update, they said they would send it back to me today with further instructions (was that because i called?) I received the document without the apostille and stating that I should send it to another office... which is located in the same building :)"

"Edit: I spoke too soon! The turn around time for my documents was fairly quick. I think it took about a week and a half to two weeks to get my paperwork processed by mail. A lot better than 11 weeks. I also heard passport processing has sped up too. They need to communicate what is going on though! I cannot believe the walk-in office is still closed. My federal background check took only an hour to process from start to finish. Next step apostille but what would have taken a week before the pandemic will now be a 3-month ordeal. I probably have to give up on my job. Why do US agencies stink at serving their citizens? Also lost a large tax refund during the pandemic from being unable to communicate(being put on hold) with the local DC tax departments while overseas. Can you imagine waiting 3 months to only find out you made a mistake and need to wait another 3 months? I hope I find another solution."

"I've been waiting for my birth certificate for over 13 weeks. I have a copy of everything I sent them and it is in order. I have spoke to them 7 times. And I have called over a dozen times no answer. When I do get a agent it is the same agent everytime. He assure me that they received it on November 15 everything is is in order. They are just waiting to complete it. As of now the journey I would like to take may not be possible soon. I feel like no-one should be kept from completing a spiritual journey. As of today I am just left on hold with no resolve or remedy! What do I do next?"

"Absolutely awful agency. I tried to follow the directions to the letter, but did not get my document certified by the state first. They held on to my documents for 11 weeks to the day just to print out a piece of paper that said I did it wrong and send it back to me. Still took my $40 though… I’m shocked at the disappointing level of service. I called so many times to ask for an update or if I at least submitted it correctly. I was told it was processing, which I assumed meant that it would indeed be certified. Nope. They waited until the day they had been holding it for 11 weeks then sent it back to me. And there is nothing to do but send it back to them again, but correctly this time, *and wait another 11 weeks*!!!!"

"This has to be the worst government agency in the US, and that’s not saying much. My document was received by their office on June 26th. I’ve been waiting for 12 weeks today. I’ve tried checking my status the past 2 weeks and no reply. When you call, you are on hold for hours and hours. I was on hold for an entire day this week. It’s gotten so bad that they have basically given up on their jobs. I think the only way to get a reply is to get a politician involved. This is the sad state of the country we live in. I’m worried it might be lost, and there’s really no way to find this information out. It’s frustrating at best."