What Documents Do Georgian Citizens Need for a US / Schengen Work Visa?

Below we look at which documents work visas for the USA and Schengen countries require and how to prepare the certificate so that your application is not held up. The facts have been checked against the official pages of the US Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic as of October 2026. Lists change, so always check the current list of the specific consulate before you apply.

The article is for people who have already found an employer or are waiting for an offer and are starting to prepare their documents. An immigration lawyer or your employer will help you choose the type of visa; we help you prepare and translate the documents correctly.

Documents almost every work visa requires

• a valid passport with blank pages;
• photos meeting the specific country's visa standard;
• a job offer or employment contract and, depending on the country, a work permit;
• a diploma, certificates and letters from previous employers confirming your work experience (diploma translation);
• a criminal record certificate, either mandatory or on request;
• when travelling with family members, marriage and birth certificates (marriage certificate translation, birth certificate translation).

USA: an H-1B and an immigrant visa are not the same thing

• the DS-160 confirmation page and a photo;
• a valid passport;
• the USCIS approval notice (I-797) received by the employer;
• your diploma and work experience documents;
• the receipt for payment of the consular fee.

A criminal record certificate is, as a rule, not part of the standard H-1B list. However, if you have ever been arrested, the consular officer will ask for court documents. If your spouse and children come with you on H-4 visas, the marriage and birth certificates must be translated into English.

Since June 2021, the US Department of State has treated a police certificate as valid for 2 years. The translation must be into English and certified by the translator. More detail: translating documents for a US visa and certified translation.

Schengen: work only with a national D visa

A short-stay Schengen C visa does not give you the right to work. To work you need a national D visa of the specific country or a residence permit, so the list changes from country to country. Always look up the exact list on the official page of that country's consulate, not on forums or social networks.

Some countries also control who does the translation. The Czech Republic, for example, asks for an official translation, so before ordering, check with the embassy whether a translation notarized in Georgia will be accepted.

Diploma and work experience letters

For a work visa, your qualification is often as important as the job offer itself. A diploma usually comes with a supplement or a transcript, because the recipient wants to see what you studied and for how many credits. More detail: transcript and diploma supplement translation.

A work experience letter is most useful when the previous employer issued it on company letterhead and it shows:

• the position and duties, in a few specific sentences;
• the start and end dates of employment;
• working hours: full-time or part-time;
• the manager's signature, a seal and contact details.

If the letter only says "worked with us", the translation cannot add anything. It is better to ask the employer for a new letter with full information before translating.

Family members

If your spouse and children come with you, they need their own applications and, in them, documents confirming the family relationship: the marriage certificate and the children's birth certificates, often with an apostille and a translation. Some countries also ask adult family members for a criminal record certificate. Check this rule separately, so that you do not end up with the main applicant's documents ready and the family's not.

Why applications stall on the criminal record certificate

• The apostille is missing. The certificate was translated and certified, but without an apostille, which makes the whole package useless;
• The validity period has run out. The appointment was moved and the certificate went past the period the authority allows;
• The name does not match. In the translation the name is written in Latin letters differently from the passport;
• Another country's certificate is missing. The applicant submitted only the Georgian certificate, although they had lived in another country for years.

How the certificate is prepared for a work visa

1. you get the certificate from the MIA Service Agency or online;
2. you get the apostille at the same agency;
3. the apostilled certificate is translated into the language the destination country requires: English, Polish, Czech and others;
4. the translator's signature is notarized. At TARGMANEBI the translation is ready the same or the next day.

One warning: some countries' authorities accept a translation only from a sworn translator entered in their own register. This is especially common once you are already in the country, at the residence permit stage. Before ordering, check whether you need a notarized translation done in Tbilisi or a translation by a local sworn translator. In either case we will help you plan the package correctly.

The steps for getting the certificate and the apostille in detail: how to get a criminal record certificate and prepare it for use abroad.

The advantage of translating the package together

Work visa documents complement each other: the diploma confirms your qualification, the work letters your experience, the criminal record certificate your reputation, and the family certificates your relationships. The consular or immigration officer compares these documents with one another. If they were translated by different translators at different times, the same name may be spelled three ways and the employer's name two ways. Such an inconsistency looks minor, but it becomes a reason for additional questions and requests for documents.

When you send us the package together, we write names, surnames, organization names and job titles the same way in every translation. We will also tell you which document needs an apostille and which does not, so that you do not get unnecessary certification and do not miss a necessary one.

Check before the interview

• in every translation your name and surname match the Latin spelling in your passport;
• the criminal record certificate has an apostille, and the apostille text is translated too;
• on the day you submit it, the certificate is within the period the receiving authority allows;
• you also have certificates from the countries where you lived for a long time, if the visa type requires them;
• you keep originals and translations in separate folders, together with copies.

Timeline

Validity requirements differ sharply. For a US immigrant visa, the two-year period leaves plenty of margin and the certificate can even be prepared in advance. The Czech 180-day limit is stricter: you should get the certificate when the application date is already known.

A Georgian certificate takes up to two weeks as standard: 3 working days for issue and 5 working days for the apostille at the agency's terms, and the translation the same or the next day. With the expedited service the package is ready in a few days. Count backwards from your appointment date.

Frequently asked questions

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