All You Need to Know About International Visas and Deposition Visas
Acquiring international visas, such as travel visas and deposition visas, doesn’t have to be a struggle if you prepare ahead of time. Whether you’re planning an international deposition, arbitration, or business meeting, the right preparation will help your international travels go smoothly. The first step is discovering the international visa requirements for your destination country.
What is a Visa?
A visa is a conditional authorization that a country grants to a foreigner which allows that person to enter, stay in, or leave the country. Visas usually includes the amount of time a foreigner can stay in the country, when they may enter, and the number of times they can visit. Visas can also determine if the foreigner can work in that country during their stay.
Visas Can Be:
A stamp in a passport book
A separate document
An electronic record that you can print
What Countries Require International Visas?
Research the country you will be visiting to understand the country’s specific visa requirements. In some countries, you can remain for a certain amount of time without a visa. But if your visit will exceed this period of time, you need a visa. In other countries, you will need a visa to enter the country at all.
Here is a list of foreign country’s visa requirements.
Acquiring Visas for Your Deposition Team
If you are flying your deposition team—such as lawyers and paralegals—from America to perform a deposition in a foreign country, you may need to acquire international visas (travel visas) or deposition visas. Receiving a travel or deposition visa can be a lengthy process. Allow at least three weeks before the trip for the embassy or consulate to process the visas.
What Countries Require Deposition Visas?
To conduct depositions in India and Japan, attorneys, translators, court reporters, and other relevant personnel involved in the deposition require deposition visas.
How to acquire a deposition visa for a deposition in India or Japan:
Apply for a deposition visa at the Indian or Japanese Embassy or United State Consulate at least three weeks before you leave on your trip.
Complete the visa application forms and provide photographs. You must also present a photocopy of the commission or court order for a U.S. consular officer to take a deposition in the foreign country.
Pay the reservation fee and statutory consular fee.
Make a request on letterhead stationary including the following information:
- The location and name of the court
- The name and occupation of each witness
- A summary of the case
Once the embassy or consulate receives the application for the special deposition visa, the following protocol is followed:
The Consulate or Embassy in the United States contacts the Indian or Japanese Foreign Ministry seeking permission to issue the deposition visa.
The Foreign Ministry will then contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General to confirm that the U.S. consular officer received a certified copy of the U.S. court order along with the reservation and statutory consular fees.
Once the Foreign Ministry receives confirmation, the Foreign Ministry will authorize the Consulate or Embassy in the United States to issue the deposition visa.
Hiring Court Reporters and Legal Videographers Abroad for a Deposition
Some countries do not have court reporters or legal videographers that meet the United States standards for recording a deposition. This is because courts in many foreign countries do not rely on count reporter transcripts to the same extent as courts do in the United States. Therefore, the limited qualified court reporters in other countries are in high demand for U.S. depositions.
You should also hire a trained U.S. legal videographer who lives abroad. These videographers know how to shoot videos in correspondence with the U.S Federal Rules of Evidence, so the videos will be admissible in a U.S. court.
Partnering with an international court reporting agency, like Planet Depos, can help you find certified court reporters, legal videographers, and interpreters in the country where you are holding the deposition. A domestic deposition team will help you drastically reduce your travel costs by not paying for flight and other travel expenses for a U.S. based deposition team. These people will also know the region well and will be able to give you advice on travel.
For more information on international depositions or to schedule, contact Planet Depos International Scheduling at 888.433.3767 or fill out our easy online scheduling form.
For more information about deposition visas, contact Planet Depos’ International Scheduling Department.
Want to learn more? Check out our checklist for U.S. depositions in Japan and U.S. depositions in India.