Birth Certificate Bureaucracy

I was eligible to apply for Czech Citizenship two years ago after I passed my B1 Czech language exam.   However, I can't apply until I first sort out my birth certificate.

Here's the situation...

I need to provide a birth certificate with an apostille.  An apostille is basically an internationally recognised "super notarisation".  In the USA,  an apostille can only be issued in the state where the document was issued.  Since I was born in California, my birth certificate can only be given an apostille by the Secretary of State of California.

The fee to request an apostille in California is $20.  I have an old certified copy of my birth certificate with me in Brno.  I would need to mail my birth certificate to California, along with payment for the apostille, and the return postage for it to be mailed back to me in Czechland.  

I wasn't really thrilled about mailing the only copy of my birth certificate.  The next option was to request a new certified birth certificate from Riverside County, in Southern California.  I would need to submit a request by mail, with payment, for the new birth certificate.  It would get mailed to me in Brno.  Then I would need to mail the new one back to California for the apostille, and then have this mailed back to me in Brno.  Crazy.

I found lots of companies that I could pay to sort out a new certified birth certificate or to sort out the apostille.  Finding companies that would handle both the birth certificate and the apostille was damn near impossible.  The few companies that I did find that would handle both parts, and seemed somewhat reputable, cost around $1000.  

So while we were in California I took the opportunity to finally get my documents sorted.  I shipped my birth certificate to Sacramento for the Secretary of State to issue the apostille.  My mom needed to write a Czech for the $20 processing fee.  I included a pre-paid DHL envelope for it to be shipped back to me in Brno.

While in California, I also requested a new certified birth certificate just so that I will have a spare copy.  The new birth certificate will be sent to my parent's home in Arizona.