Translating a Foreign Divorce for Use in the US

Which document proves the divorce

Divorce systems differ, and so does the paperwork. In some countries the court judgment is the proof, with a stamp or certificate saying it became final (firme, rechtskräftig, "decree absolute"). In others the divorce is effective only once it is registered, and the registry's marriage record with a divorce annotation is the key document. In some, a divorce is granted by an administrative office or a notary rather than a court. The State Department's list for each country says which document is issued and accepted. Send us that document; translating a judgment without its finality certificate leaves the main question unanswered.

What to look for before ordering

• Finality. A stamp, endorsement or separate certificate showing the decision can no longer be appealed, and the date it became final.
• Both names, matching the passports or explained.
• Registration. Where the divorce must be recorded in the civil register, the annotation on the marriage record.
• Religious divorces. A religious divorce alone may not end a civil marriage; ask an attorney if that is all you have.

What gets translated

For USCIS, translate the full document you file: every page of the decree, the finality stamp or certificate, and any apostille. Long judgments sometimes include pages of reasoning about custody or property; if you file them, they must be translated too. Ask your attorney whether the whole judgment or only a certificate of divorce is needed, since some countries issue a short certificate designed for exactly this purpose.

Remarriage and courts

A county clerk issuing a marriage licence may ask for proof that an earlier marriage ended, and a foreign decree in another language needs a translation then too. Family courts asked to modify custody or support set by a foreign decree read the full judgment, so translate all of it with the original's paragraph numbering.

Names after divorce

Many divorces restore a former surname or change a child's name. If your name changed with the divorce, the decree or a separate registry record shows it, and US agencies will ask for it when your current name differs from older documents. Translate that part of the decree with the names exactly as written and the transliteration noted, so the link between the old and new names is clear.

Custody and support orders

Parents who move to the US with a child after a foreign divorce often need the custody provisions translated for schools, passports and travel consent, and sometimes for a New Jersey court asked to register or modify the order. Those sections are translated in full, with the parties' and child's names and the exact wording of the parenting arrangements.