Translation for Immigration Court

Interpreter or translator?

At a hearing, the court supplies an interpreter for the respondent's language. That interpreter interprets what is said in the courtroom; they do not translate the documents you file. Written evidence (identity documents, police and medical records, letters, country reports) must arrive already translated, with a translator's certificate attached to each document, by the court's filing deadline. Missing the deadline can mean the judge does not consider the document.

What the certificate must say

The certification is signed by the translator, typed or printed legibly, and states that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English and that the translation is accurate. Ours name the document, the languages and the translator, and are attached to each translated document rather than given once for a whole packet. If your attorney uses a specific certificate wording, send it and we will use it.

Preparing the evidence packet

• Order by exhibit list. Send documents in the order of the exhibit list or index, numbered, so translations come back in the same order.
• Original and translation together. Each translation is filed behind its original-language copy. We deliver PDFs ready to place behind each original.
• Pagination. If your exhibits are paginated, we carry the page numbers onto the translations.
• Consistency. Names are spelled as in the respondent's passport or as the attorney instructs, on every document.

Detained cases

Detained dockets move quickly, and families often collect documents from abroad with days to spare. Expedited service delivers short documents in hours. Send what you have as soon as you have it, rather than waiting for the complete set.

Documents that need extra care

Police summonses, court judgments and medical records are often handwritten or stamped. We translate what can be read with certainty and mark the rest [illegible]. Judges and DHS attorneys look at these documents for signs of authenticity, so stamps, seals and signatures are described where they appear.

Common evidence in removal defense

Depending on the relief sought, respondents file identity and civil records, proof of relationships to US citizens or residents (marriage and children's birth certificates), evidence of hardship (medical records, school records, letters), records of any criminal case and its outcome, and, in asylum-based cases, evidence of persecution and country conditions. Each foreign-language document needs its own translation and certificate. For hardship cases, letters from relatives and employers are often handwritten; send clear scans and the names of the writers so we can spell them consistently.