Certified Translations Israel

[blanche 2]

We have filed our I-130 from abroad back in December. Now we have collected all our required documents and are preparing the AOS package.

Until now, I thought that I should do certified translations on the two documents that are NOT in English. Then I got price quotes and they are so high! So I looked at the Jerusalem consulate website and it says this:

• "Original Documents – Bring original documents (i.e. birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, etc.), as well as one photocopy of each document. Please provide a photocopy of each document and a certified English translation for any documents in languages other than English, Arabic, or Hebrew.

Ok, so it seems that we DON'T have to get these two documents in Hebrew translated since we are in the country that the official language is Hebrew.

My wonder is that if NVC gets these documents, will it delay our case? We are filling from abroad but it's not called a 'direct consular filing' as far as I know. We sent our initial application to the Chicago service center and now have to send all these papers to NVC in New Hampshire.

So in summary - do we send our package with two documents that are not in English since the package will go to the US consulate here eventually anyways? I could definitely translate these documents myself but ... I'm not a certified translator. I've read lots of threads about this but don't really know the answer. My gut says to have them translated but my wallet says no way.

Thanks.

[Ryan H 3,798]

Since the Consulate does not require translations, the NVC will not ask for them. If they do, point out what the Consulate says because that is king.

[blanche 2]

Thanks for your input. That is my gut feeling, also.

[mollenne 11]

Speaking from experience, and depending on what the document is, you may want to consider getting certified English translations of documents that you'll need to use within the US (for example, a birth certificate or divorce decree). It will be a lot less expensive and a lot easier (not to mention faster) to get them translated in Israel rather than the U.S.

However, something to consider: certain government-issued documents from Israel can be "ordered" in an English version. We ordered an English version of my husband's birth certificate while in Israel and I'm glad we did, because it's helped him with obtaining documents now that he's with me in the U.S.

If you're looking to get someone to do an official certified translation, I can give you the contact information of the lawyer we used. She is located in Bnei Brak and was helpful with translating some previous court documents and Form 807 for my husband. I thought her prices were reasonable.