Immigration is a life-changing process that can be intimidating. It is packed with documentation requirements and deadlines, and one missed step or error could create a major setback and delay the process.
At our translation company, we are contacted daily by individuals who are either helping close friends & family navigate the immigration process or are embarking on the journey themselves. What we provide for these individuals are certified translations, a type of document that is required by USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to support any application, petition, or request filed with their agency when there are foreign documents involved.
What are USCIS’ translation requirements?
Anyone who plans to immigrate, seek employment, or study in the U.S. will need to file the right forms and submit the appropriate documentation. To be accepted, all information provided must be complete and accurate, including translations of official documents required by USCIS.
The Code of Federal Regulations indicates the following regarding the handling of foreign-language documentation for USCIS:
“Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.” (Source)
Whether you are applying for naturalization, a travel document, or a petition for nonimmigrant workers, you must comply with the USCIS translation requirement and obtain certified translations into English for any document in a foreign language.
If you’re preparing to file a transaction with USCIS and need a certified translation, we hope this blog can help you understand how we can help you meet the USCIS-certified translation requirements to ensure success.
Which documents often require a certified translation for USCIS?
Anytime you file an application, you will be asked to submit numerous official document translations that are personal in nature. These include but are not limited to:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Adoption decrees
- Transcripts
- Diplomas
- Medical records
- Passports
- Bank statements
All non-English documents from foreign high schools, financial institutions, or governments must be accompanied by a certified translation.
The Certified Translation Process- Simple and Straightforward
First things first – look for a qualified, experienced USCIS translation services company or provider. The provider you choose should have the resources and track record you can rely on to ensure USCIS will accept your certified document translations.
It is never worth the risk to leave the quality of your personal document translation to chance by sending it to a friend, relative, or anyone who happens to be bilingual. Moreover, these translations should be performed by an impartial professional translator who can produce a genuine, word-for-word document translation without omissions or additions.
One significant advantage of using a professional translation services company for your certified translations is that all translations are placed in the hands of skilled, experienced translators specializing in document translations. With their help, you can be confident that the translation of your official documents will be accurate and consistent. Your records and files will be kept confidential and handled with care.
Next- you’ll need to provide the translation company with a clear copy of the documents that need translation. This may be an obvious step, but the quality of the copy you supply will be critical to helping the translator render a complete and accurate translation. In particular, many old handwritten documents present challenges; you’ll need to be sure all names and important dates are legible.
All illegible portions of the copy, such as seals, signatures, stamps, etc., will be indicated in the translation as such. Nevertheless, every part of the document must be in the certified translation when filing an application with USCIS. We highly recommend obtaining the clearest copies possible of your documents so that all vital information is included in the translated document.
During the translation process, the translator renders a word-for-word translation of the copy while retaining the original document’s format. All dates are converted into the standard format used in the U.S. If the document is written in the Roman alphabet, no changes in names or spellings can be included since this document will be certified as identical to the original received. If the document is in the Cyrillic alphabet, Arabic, or Far East languages, spellings can be modified if needed: Mohamed instead of Muhammed, but not Mohamed for Mustapha. Often, official documents have several pages, such as an apostille from another country, so all the parts of the document need to be translated.
Once the translation is completed, a draft is sent to you for your review—primarily as an additional step in the quality assurance process so that you can see what the translation looks like before certification.
Finally, the translation is certified by attaching a certification page to a printout of the translation and a copy of the original document.
In compliance with USCIS translation requirements, the certification page contains an affidavit certifying that the translation is a true, accurate, and faithful representation of a copy of the original that was submitted, to the best of the translator’s training and ability, who is fluent in the language and qualified to translate. Our translation company’s certification pages have our corporate seal, address, and contact information. The final step is for a translation company representative to sign it.
USCIS Certified Translation Services You Can Count On
The immigration process is complex, and our goal is to help lessen the stress by providing certified English translations for USCIS that are guaranteed to be accepted as part of your application. We take your request as seriously as if it were our own, and we’ll make sure your essential documents are handled with the confidentiality and professionalism they deserve. Be sure to determine well ahead of time which documents you need to submit in your application, and contact us right away if you have foreign documents that require certified translation for USCIS.
