Translating Documents

[TheNottleys 0]

My husband is required a clearance letter from Spain before we are able to get his visa. We decided that instead of waiting for the agency to process it, he would just fly to Spain and apply in person. My question is, will they need us to have the letter translated before he the accept it? Anyone have an idea?

[Inky 1,111]

Yes anything that is not in english must be translated.

[cherriesss 4]

From the US Department of State concerning civil documents presented in support of an immigrant visa application:

Translation Requirements

All documents not written in English, or in the official language of the country in which application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified translations. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator stating that the:

* Translation is accurate, and

* Translator is competent to translate.

Link here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html

Edited November 24, 2010 by cherriesss

[cherriesss 4]

Also, in my case, I took an extra step and had the foreign civil documents authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then took them to the US Embassy to get the Ministry's authentication legalized. If the foreign country you are obtaining the civil documents from is a signer of the Convention de La Haye, then a simple apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will suffice.

It is an extra step that may not apply to all cases, but because I obtained civil documents from one country to use them in the US Embassy at another country in our visa application, I took the extra measure to cover ALL possible bases.

Edited November 24, 2010 by cherriesss

[TheNottleys 0]

Thank you so much everyone! We found a company to Translate the documents. I absolutely want to cover every base! Thank you so much for all of your help.