Why do US Embassies not certify US Documents anymore?

Question

I am a US citizen living abroad with my wife, and I needed to get our marriage certificate certified in Thailand. Since my

wife has an American Green Card, I thought this would be

a routine matter. Instead, however, I was informed that the

Embassy no longer certifies documents of any kind, and

I was shown a State Department directive instructing me to

contact the authorities in the capital of my home state for

a certified original. Then I was supposed to ask them to

send this certified original to the State Department in

Washington, D.C., and ask them in turn to send the

document to the US Embassy in Thailand, who were

then supposed to send the item to the Foreign Ministry

of Thailand. The whole procedure looked a skit from

Monthy Python on bureaucratic inanities, and I

couldn't help but ask a Consular Official if anyone

had ever completed this convoluted ordeal successfully,

only to be subjected to a stream of amplified abuse

from the official. What is the story?

Answer 1

that sure was a snotty response.

for the record, i socialize with a ton of us embassy workers, and most of them are really nice...at least out of the office.

Answer 2

Because they don't know how many fake institution they have or don't have enough equipment or knowledge to differentiate fake and real one......

Or simply they want to create problems not solve it.

Answer 3

If this is what you need to do, do it. Takes time, but quicker you get started, quicker you get it done.

Answer 4

We have never certified state-issued US documents, just like we don't certify foreign documents.  Why?  There is no way that we can be sure that the document is genuine, yet that is what a certification requires.

Yes, people manage the process successfully every day.

Answer 5

We would certify that your document was a copy of the original, or that you had really signed it, but only for US purposes, not Thai.  Consular officers don't subject anyone to abuse unless someone has been abusive to them -- I know they shouldn't do it even then, but it happens.

Your marriage must have been at some time certified in US records for your wife to have a "green card".  The only reason I can imagine for the request is that you wish to reside in Thailand.  This is totally legitimate, but your quarrel then is with Thai officials, not with US consular officers.