Anyway, WHO is asking for the notarized paperwork?
A
Commercial mail receiving agency is asking for the paperwork, which they then submit to the USPS. The document is USPS form 1583.
Does it specify that it must be a US notary? If not, why not visit a bank the country you are currently in and have their bank notary take care of it. Chances are it will be less than the embassy's prices.
No, it doesn't have to be a US notary. I just read a different version of the requirements than what I was originally sent, and they're more relaxed than I originally thought. They essentially call for a "notary or equivalent where you reside".
Bankers are not an option. The first time I asked a European banker to notarize a document, I just got a blank stare. I later discovered that I should not even be using that word, because it has an entirely different meaning on the other side of the pond. A notary public in Europe seems to be a real estate attorney (if I'm not mistaken), and they charge four figures for their services. So now I simply ask bankers if they can "witness a signature", and carefully avoid using the ambiguous term "notary"; the answer is still "no". It's not a part of the European banking business.
I believe I know the official way to get the equivalent of a US notarization. If you can imagine a congested DMV office in the states, where you have to wait through multiple long lines to accomplish a single task, with opening hours as lousy as the embassy, and where everyone knows a little English, that's probably the type of office I will be dealing with.
Ideally, I would find an american notary public who does not work at the embassy. There are probably some US expat accountants here that I can ask. I was hoping to find a website with a worldwide database of notary publics.
