USCIS Immigration Translation

USCIS requires that any document submitted in a foreign language be accompanied by a full English translation, together with a certification from the translator stating that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate. This requirement is set out in the federal regulations at 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). Every translation we issue for immigration filings is produced to meet it.

Two things that cause avoidable RFEs

A Request for Evidence over a translation delays a petition by months. In our experience the two recurring causes are both preventable:

1. Incomplete translation. "Complete" means the whole document — registry stamps, seals, marginal annotations, the reverse side, official endorsements. Translating only the front-face biographical data is the single most common defect. Marriage and divorce records are especially prone to this, because later annotations are frequently added in the margins.
2. Name inconsistency. When a name is transliterated one way on the birth certificate and another way on the passport, and the translations reproduce both spellings without explanation, the reviewer sees a discrepancy. Tell us how names appear on your passport and we will handle the variants consistently.

Notarization is not required

USCIS does not require translations to be notarized. A signed certificate of accuracy is sufficient. Notarization is frequently sold alongside immigration translation and, for a USCIS filing specifically, it is usually an unnecessary expense. If a different body in your process asks for it — a consulate, a court, a foreign registry — then it is warranted; see notarized translation.

Documents commonly filed

Birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, death certificates, passports and national ID cards, police and criminal record certificates, academic records, military records, and court documents. If you are gathering documents for a family-based petition, sending the full set at once is usually cheaper and faster than submitting them piecemeal.

We also provide apostille services for documents that need authentication for use abroad, which is a separate requirement from anything USCIS asks for.