VERY Important: FBI Background Check and Apostille

On December 1, 2011, I sent my two sets of fingerprints, mail order made payable to the U.S. Treasury Department for $18.00, my FBI Background Check application, and self-addressed prepaid FedEx airbill return envelope, to Washington DC via FedEx express. I *also* included the VERY IMPORTANT (hand-written is fine) note specifically stating, "Please provide an FBI seal and signature from a Division Officer for the purpose of obtaining a Federal Apostille." I thought this was the end of the process but no!!!!! I then needed to get an apostille, which the Korean job recruiters tried to explain to me but I still didn't understand.

On January 18th, I received here in Colorado in a FedEx envelope from the CJIS Correspondence office of the FBI (at 1000 Custer Hollow Rd, Clarksburg, WV 26306) two pieces of paper. The first piece of paper was the official FBI background check results, also called, "U.S. Department of Justice Order 000-00 [numbers different of course] fingerprint search results." It had a blue ink stamped signature at the bottom of a Division Officer, and had a 3D notarized stamp on it. The second piece of paper stated that if I needed the document apostilled, to mail it to the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office (at 518 23^rd Street, NW SA-1; Columbia Plaza; Washington, DC 20520) and it gave a phone number to call. I called the number listed on the first piece of paper, and was directed to call the "FedInfo" number of 1-800-333-4636. The helpful gentleman at this FedInfo number instructed me to mail the FBI background check results *with* a cover letter REQUIRING SPECIFIC INFORMATION along with a $8.00 check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State to the Authentications Office (address above). The cover letter had to include:  my full name, phone number, mailing address (NOT post office box number), email address - yes, *required*- and country where the background check results will be used. I also had to include a self-addressed prepaid return envelope if I was going to have them mail it back to me. *Luckily,* my dad remembered my mom has wonderful world-traveling friends who live in Maryland, not far from DC. My mom called them up, asked if they would be willing and able to have us FedEx to them my precious signed notarized "U.S. Dpt of Justice Order blah-dee-blah fingerprint search results" [to be said in a very official-sounding voice], so that they could walk this nugget of gold document in person to the Authentications Office to get apostilled, and then FedEx it back to us, saving me at least 5 days of time. They graciously said, "Yes." [Elaine and Jim ~ Thank you! 감사합니다!]

My parents' friends, who luckily live in Maryland, kindly took my precious one sheet of paper (FBI background check results), that I had FedExed to them, to the Authentications Office in DC to get apostilled. What a life and time saver! It probably would've taken me at least one more week to do this via mail if I had mailed it directly to the Authentications Office. Instead, they drove an hour (or two?) into DC, spent 45-60 minutes waiting at the office, then walked out with the document apostilled, and FedExed it to me. Wow! Quick turn-around! It should arrive tomorrow in the mail.