Can my friend translate my birth certificate for USCIS? + European date format?

[dreamer32 11]

Hi everyone,

 

I’m preparing my Adjustment of Status (AOS) package after entering the U.S. on a K-1 visa, and I have a question about translating my birth certificate.

 

I know USCIS requires certified translations, but I’m wondering:

 

• Can my friend translate the document for me?

          She’s fluent in both Turkish and English and lives in the UK. She’s not a professional translator. Is this acceptable for USCIS as long as she includes the proper certification statement?

 

• My original birth date is written in European format (DD/MM/YYYY), but I filled out my AOS forms using the U.S. format (MM/DD/YYYY).

          Should my friend write the date in the English translation as “2 March 1993” to avoid confusion?

 

If anyone has experience with this, I’d really appreciate your advice. I just want to be safe and avoid an RFE🙏

 

Thanks in advance!

[OldUser 9,545]

Friend can translate if proficient in both languages. However, to avoid any conflict of interest, you can use a translation service. There's many affordable services online. They do it professionally and have all necessary templates to do the job properly. You can probably translate it for $20-50.

Edited Wednesday at 08:48 PM by OldUser

[dreamer32 11]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Friend can translate if proficient in both languages. However, to avoid any conflict of interest, you can use a translation service. There's many affordable services online. They do it professionally and have all necessary templates to do the job properly. You can probably translate it for $20-50.

Thank you so much for your answer!

 

I think at this stage it is better to use a translation stage to avoid any issues.

[Fr8dog 338]

No issue on the changing the date format from European to American. I would use the month name instead of the number to eliminate confusion. I see no reason to use a certified translator unless they specifically demand it.

The whole thing is dumb anyway. They already have the copy you provided during the K-1 in your file. And that one was accepted as correct and accurate by the consulate officer.

[dreamer32 11]

10 hours ago, Fr8dog said:

No issue on the changing the date format from European to American. I would use the month name instead of the number to eliminate confusion. I see no reason to use a certified translator unless they specifically demand it.

The whole thing is dumb anyway. They already have the copy you provided during the K-1 in your file. And that one was accepted as correct and accurate by the consulate officer.

Thank you so much! 

 

I decided to use a translation service finally. I was told that the standard is to change the dates to the US date format, as most of translations are routed to USCIS by the translation support team. It gave me peace of my mind :D