Translating Turkish Family Book

[Hannah711 11]

Do we need to translate the family book? I have heard conflicting responses. Some say no and others say they did. 

[JKLSemicolon 414]

Not sure what the family book is, but per the Department of State instructions for civil documents:

 

Quote

Please note that all documents not written in English, or in the official language of the country from which you are applying, must be accompanied by certified translations. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator stating that:

• The translation is accurate, and
• The translator is competent to translate.

 

It seems the beneficiary/applicant in your case is from Syria but interviewing in Turkey. If I were in that situation, then I would have any document not written in English or Turkish translated to English. When in doubt, contact the immigrant visa section here: https://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/contact-immigrant-visa-section/

 

Edited to add: since I am able to translate documents myself I tend to err on the side of providing an English translation (e.g. for my wife's birth certificate and police certificate) even if not technically required. But that's just me.

Edited May 21, 2021 by JKLSemicolon

[HKS 169]

22 hours ago, Hannah711 said:

Do we need to translate the family book? I have heard conflicting responses. Some say no and others say they did. 

I have one due to marrying in Turkey. If u look at the book it is already translated into several different languages. You dont need to have it translated. Ours was accepted without translation. 

[Hannah711 11]

33 minutes ago, HKS said:

I have one due to marrying in Turkey. If u look at the book it is already translated into several different languages. You dont need to have it translated. Ours was accepted without translation. 

Thank you. That’s what a friend of mine said as well. I just wanted to be certain. I wasn’t looking forward to paying $20 a page to have the book translated. 🤣

[Hannah711 11]

2 minutes ago, Kian Robinson said:

Thank you so much for these recommendations!

I just want to update everyone in case anyone has a similar experience. The family book did not need to be translated. I did upload all pages of it, including the front and back cover and it was also submitted to the consular officer at the interview. 

[pushbrk 12,977]

On 5/22/2021 at 6:52 AM, JKLSemicolon said:

Not sure what the family book is, but per the Department of State instructions for civil documents:

 

 

It seems the beneficiary/applicant in your case is from Syria but interviewing in Turkey. If I were in that situation, then I would have any document not written in English or Turkish translated to English. When in doubt, contact the immigrant visa section here: https://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/contact-immigrant-visa-section/

 

Edited to add: since I am able to translate documents myself I tend to err on the side of providing an English translation (e.g. for my wife's birth certificate and police certificate) even if not technically required. But that's just me.

Sounds like good answers already and OP is good to go.  I just want to add that there definitely are exceptions to the translation guidelines.  For example, for a Chinese Marriage, Birth, or Divorce Certificate, USCIS only accepts translations from the Chinese Government Notarial Office, (Gong Sheng Chu).