Translating and Submitting Form I-130 Documents

[wally5b99 0]

Hey everyone. I'm a US citizen and my wife is Japanese. We live and got married in Japan, and we're in the process of completing our Form I-130. I've read that we shouldn't submit ANY original documents at this point unless it is specifically required, but I'm still unclear on how that applies to certain special cases.

 

For example, our original marriage certificate, health care cards, and proof of joint residency documents are all written in Japanese. We already got certified English translations of all those, and then we made copies of the translations and their corresponding certifications.

 

So, my question is, when I put the Form I-130 in the mail, do I need to include the original certified translations, or is it all right to send copies of those certified translations and keep the originals for the future? We paid quite a bit of money for each individual translation, and I'm worried that we'll have to pay for them again later in the process (i.e., for the interview) if we send the originals now.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[truelove29 218]

I did the opposite & hopefully someone can confirm if this is correct...I sent the original translation with the fresh stamp from the translation service & kept copies of them for myself. So when my husband eventually goes for his interview he'll have the original marriage certificate along with copies of the translation (same with the lease for our apartment abroad).

But you are correct, you do not send any originals of the actual documents unless requested.

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

many here would say send copies but i sent originals

and when case got to NVC they said the original was a copy so i had to send another

good luck to u

[pushbrk 12,110]

2 hours ago, wally5b99 said:

Hey everyone. I'm a US citizen and my wife is Japanese. We live and got married in Japan, and we're in the process of completing our Form I-130. I've read that we shouldn't submit ANY original documents at this point unless it is specifically required, but I'm still unclear on how that applies to certain special cases.

 

For example, our original marriage certificate, health care cards, and proof of joint residency documents are all written in Japanese. We already got certified English translations of all those, and then we made copies of the translations and their corresponding certifications.

 

So, my question is, when I put the Form I-130 in the mail, do I need to include the original certified translations, or is it all right to send copies of those certified translations and keep the originals for the future? We paid quite a bit of money for each individual translation, and I'm worried that we'll have to pay for them again later in the process (i.e., for the interview) if we send the originals now.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

The only thing you send as original are the forms you sign.  Don't just send translations though.  Send the Japanese documents AND their translations.