What kind of translation does USCIS require?

[Kittyfang 6]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

[Ning 619]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

See this example below.

Additionaly notories do not certify any information in any document to be correct. They simply acknowledge that signature on the document to be that of the person that signed.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

[Babs0324 0]

If you certify that you are competent in both languages, then you can translate the document yourself. Just have it notarized so they know that it was you who signed the document.

I translated my stepson's documents from spanish to english. We had looked into getting it translated by another, but they wanted to charge $20 per sheet. I think we had four sheets, so I decided to save the money and do it myself. The I-130 was recently approved with no problems.

[Kittyfang 6]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

See this example below.

Additionaly notories do not certify any information in any document to be correct. They simply acknowledge that signature on the document to be that of the person that signed.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

I see, but, can you get any translator to do that? Or do they have to be recognized by some sort of association?

If you certify that you are competent in both languages, then you can translate the document yourself. Just have it notarized so they know that it was you who signed the document.

I translated my stepson's documents from spanish to english. We had looked into getting it translated by another, but they wanted to charge $20 per sheet. I think we had four sheets, so I decided to save the money and do it myself. The I-130 was recently approved with no problems.

That is good to hear. Translation is what I do, when I'm allowed to work. So it was bothering me to have to pay someone else to do it.

[sasaqlain 24]

I translated my own documents and didn't even notarize them. I had full command over both languages so didn't feel a need to seek a registered translator. Unless asked specifically, you don't need to notarize them. Good if you can. More authentic that way. My documents were accepted. I-130 already approved and I-485 on the verge of a hopeful decision. Edited October 17, 2009 by saspk

[Kittyfang 6]

I translated my own documents and didn't even notarize them. I had full command over both languages so didn't feel a need to seek a registered translator. Unless asked specifically, you don't need to notarize them. Good if you can. More authentic that way. My documents were accepted. I-130 already approved and I-485 on the verge of a hopeful decision.

I am glad to hear that. I remember calling the misinformation hot line and was told that I needed a certified translator... Then again, these people know less about immigration than most VJers.

[juliava 80]

I had a friend who helped me in this matter.

I did the translation myself and then I had her certify that she did the translation and that is fluent in both languages and that the translation matches the original. I didn't want her waste her time with the translation.

ps: You don't need a "certified/authorized translator"!!!

[Kittyfang 6]

I wonder, how do you do your translation? Copy the Birth certificate, for example, and write on that copy or simply translate the information on another piece of paper?

[juliava 80]

Translate everything on a separate sheet of paper.

Try to make the translation look like the original. Per example : title in the middle, where the original has capital letters, use the same format in the translation...If you have a table with columns try to create those columns in the translation as well...you know what I mean, right?

[Kittyfang 6]

Translate everything on a separate sheet of paper.

Try to make the translation look like the original. Per example : title in the middle, where the original has capital letters, use the same format in the translation...If you have a table with columns try to create those columns in the translation as well...you know what I mean, right?

Yup. Thank you very much!

[trailmix 77]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

You are just confusing the word 'certified' in the sentence.

They never state that the person translating has to be certified.

They state they want the document to be signed - by whomever translates it - indicating that they certify it to be a correct translation.

Nothing to do with a notary or translators that belong to any association.

Edited October 17, 2009 by trailmix

[Kittyfang 6]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

You are just confusing the word 'certified' in the sentence.

They never state that the person translating has to be certified.

They state they want the document to be signed - by whomever translates it - indicating that they certify it to be a correct translation.

Nothing to do with a notary or translators that belong to any association.

That's awesome! Thank you for confirming. So, just to make sure, USCIS doesn't mind having the beneficiary translate everything?

Like I said, I hate spending money on something I can do myself.

Edited October 17, 2009 by Kittyfang

[lucyrich 19]

I translated all our documents that needed translating. And I certified them, using the model language on the USCIS site that's already been quoted on this thread. I have no formal language credentials, but enough fluency to do the job. Nothing was notarized. It worked just fine.

Something like a birth certificate usually doesn't have a whole lot of language on it that's subject to subtle re-interpretation, with shades of meaning and connotations involved, so the translation is generally pretty straightforward. If you're translating something that may seem a bit controversial and you want to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, go ahead and hire a neutral third party to do the translation and certify it. But if you're confident in your ability and you want to save money and time, do it yourself. Be sure that you're comfortable with the possibility that the USCIS might get their own language expert to look at your translation (not that they will, but they could). If their language expert found you had distorted the meaning in a significant way, it would spell serious trouble for your case.

[Kittyfang 6]

I translated all our documents that needed translating. And I certified them, using the model language on the USCIS site that's already been quoted on this thread. I have no formal language credentials, but enough fluency to do the job. Nothing was notarized. It worked just fine.

Something like a birth certificate usually doesn't have a whole lot of language on it that's subject to subtle re-interpretation, with shades of meaning and connotations involved, so the translation is generally pretty straightforward. If you're translating something that may seem a bit controversial and you want to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, go ahead and hire a neutral third party to do the translation and certify it. But if you're confident in your ability and you want to save money and time, do it yourself. Be sure that you're comfortable with the possibility that the USCIS might get their own language expert to look at your translation (not that they will, but they could). If their language expert found you had distorted the meaning in a significant way, it would spell serious trouble for your case.

That is good to know! I agree with the birth certificate translation, it's pretty straight forward.

I will have some letters from family member, I will translate those as well and hope for the best.

[Ning 619]

This is taken from I-130 and I-485 instructions:

Translations. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English.

There ARE certified translator. They belong to an association and are legally allowed to certify translated documents. However, recently, someone said something about translated document and about how a certified translator was not needed. This got me thinking and, from this description, this is what I understand:

Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. Now, are they talking about, for example, me translating a document, then getting it notarized? Seems strange. The notary wouldn't really know if the translation is real or not.

... and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. Again, an example. I am competent to do that. I don't belong to a translator association, but I have been a translator in the past.

I may just be confused, but what exactly do they mean?

See this example below.

Additionaly notories do not certify any information in any document to be correct. They simply acknowledge that signature on the document to be that of the person that signed.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

I see, but, can you get any translator to do that? Or do they have to be recognized by some sort of association?

If you certify that you are competent in both languages, then you can translate the document yourself. Just have it notarized so they know that it was you who signed the document.

I translated my stepson's documents from spanish to english. We had looked into getting it translated by another, but they wanted to charge $20 per sheet. I think we had four sheets, so I decided to save the money and do it myself. The I-130 was recently approved with no problems.

That is good to hear. Translation is what I do, when I'm allowed to work. So it was bothering me to have to pay someone else to do it.

The example form is self explanitory. It is the certification required. Fill in the blanks & thats it. This has been used by many here on V J with no problems.

There is no requirement to be a translator or use one for this purpose. The requirement is that the person doing the translation is fluent in the language needing translation.

There is no need to notarize the documents.