Document Translation for U.S. Immigration
U.S. Immigration Document Translation
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, or formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service – INS) requires some or all of the following immigration documents translated from your native language to English language and certified by the translator:
- Birth certificate (baptism certificate or civil registration certificate in some countries);
- Marriage certificate, or marriage license, if married, or single status certificate if single or bachelor;
- Divorce decree, or divorce certificate, if divorced;
- Police report (criminal record) stating that you do not have any criminal activity in your records; Child adoption agreement and home studies;
- Diploma transcript (high school diploma, baccalaureate, or college/university diploma);
- Apostille document usually together with birth certificate, marriage certificate and other immigration documents;
- Non-availability of birth certificate paper that is issued in cases where birth certificate has not been issued at all or lost;
- Name change certificate, if you have legally changed your name; and
- Title deeds, bank statements, list of assets, and similar documents when marrying an American citizen.
Again, this is a general list of immigration documents that need to be translated and certified. The USCIS may require more or less of these in the list.
Have your document translation certified per USCIS requirements
Your immigration documents are official and legal documents. This requires accurate and true translation of the original documents, certificates, decrees, or other papers.
Certification by Translator is the document required by the USCIS. Typical certification is on corporate letterhead with authorized signature and corporate seal. Certification by Translator is the first page of your certified translation, followed by the translated text, and copy of your original document translated.
Bring originals of your immigration documents with you when you need USCIS case officer face to face.
Keep your original documents with you when you meet the USCIS officer. You are required to submit the originals of your immigration documents when you present your certified translation of the same. The copy attached to your certified translation must exactly match the original copy without any doubt.
What should you expect from certified document translation?
Your translated documents must carry the following qualities:
- Accurate and true translation of your documents (birth certificate, marriage license, etc.)
- Legal document translation must be word-for-word translation.
Translation agencies or professional translators are not allowed to add or delete any information of data
Word-for-word translation means that your translation must reflect the information and data with the best equivalents of the vital information in terms of words, names, dates, etc. There is no room for interpretation as in the case of translating literary works such as novels, poems, etc.
How about the order of dates which is different in your country and in the United States?
The order of dates in the United States is month, day, and year as in December 18, 2008 or 12/28/2008. In many countries in Europe and elsewhere, it is day, month, and year as in 28 December 2008 or 28/12/2008. Many translation agencies and professional translators convert (localize) the dates to U.S. order. So, 28/12/2008 is expressed as 12/28/2008. The USCIS officers are aware of the order of dates in many countries so that they know both orders of dates. However, there is no problem if your translation is localized in a way to indicate the dates in U.S. order of dates.
