Received RFE for criminal convivtion records, plus question about what constitutes a "document" for official translation purposes

[Bigfish1972 2]

OK, I'll ask the translation question first.  In the RFE on the cover page, it states "If you submit a document in any language other than English, the document must be accompanied by a full and complete English translation.  The translator must certify that the translation is accurate and he or she is competent to translate from that language to English".

All official documents have been translated by a certified translator, so that's covered.  However, we've been putting together a little Word document that include screenshots of WhatsApp convos, and we're messaging in Spanish in some of it.  I've put the English translation next to it, but I just got to wondering if this constitutes a "document" by USCIS standards and do we need a certified translator to translate it?  That would seem a bit excessive, but I thought I would ask anyway.

 

Secondly, I have a couple of criminal things from 1992.  I got the official court records with the court seal stamps in the mail.  However, the police records don't exist before 2006.  We got an official email reply stating this, signed by the records clerk and stamped with the sheriff's office stamp.  Is that going to be sufficient?  I had an email from a different court that obviously was sufficient, because nothing additional was asked about it in the RFE, so I'm assuming that this should be OK.  

 

Thanks for your help!

[pushbrk 14,552]

1 hour ago, Bigfish1972 said:

OK, I'll ask the translation question first.  In the RFE on the cover page, it states "If you submit a document in any language other than English, the document must be accompanied by a full and complete English translation.  The translator must certify that the translation is accurate and he or she is competent to translate from that language to English".

All official documents have been translated by a certified translator, so that's covered.  However, we've been putting together a little Word document that include screenshots of WhatsApp convos, and we're messaging in Spanish in some of it.  I've put the English translation next to it, but I just got to wondering if this constitutes a "document" by USCIS standards and do we need a certified translator to translate it?  That would seem a bit excessive, but I thought I would ask anyway.

 

Secondly, I have a couple of criminal things from 1992.  I got the official court records with the court seal stamps in the mail.  However, the police records don't exist before 2006.  We got an official email reply stating this, signed by the records clerk and stamped with the sheriff's office stamp.  Is that going to be sufficient?  I had an email from a different court that obviously was sufficient, because nothing additional was asked about it in the RFE, so I'm assuming that this should be OK.  

 

Thanks for your help!

You say your translations are from a "certified translator".  They are probably fine, but it is the translator that certifies the translations.  USCIS does not certify translators.  I would skip the communication records in Spanish and concentrate on evidence of time spent together in person, like passport stamps or boarding passes, and hotel receipts etc.

 

[Bigfish1972 2]

2 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

You say your translations are from a "certified translator".  They are probably fine, but it is the translator that certifies the translations.  USCIS does not certify translators.  I would skip the communication records in Spanish and concentrate on evidence of time spent together in person, like passport stamps or boarding passes, and hotel receipts etc.

 

Yes, the translator isn’t the issue, it’s what USCIS considers a “document” that is the issue.  They wanted evidence of when our first communication was, so I took screenshots of the messenger conversation, and put them in a document.  Does USCIS consider that to be a “document,” on the same level as a birth certificate or divorce decree, and require a certified translation?

[pushbrk 14,552]

7 minutes ago, Bigfish1972 said:

Yes, the translator isn’t the issue, it’s what USCIS considers a “document” that is the issue.  They wanted evidence of when our first communication was, so I took screenshots of the messenger conversation, and put them in a document.  Does USCIS consider that to be a “document,” on the same level as a birth certificate or divorce decree, and require a certified translation?

Yes, if the specific first communication was requested and was in Spanish, you'll need to include a translation and for the translator to certify it.  Use an image of the conversation, not just a transcription or copy and paste.  Copying and pasting text is not evidence.

Edited 5 hours ago by pushbrk

[Edward and Jaycel 2,684]

2 hours ago, Bigfish1972 said:

We got an official email reply stating this, signed by the records clerk and stamped with the sheriff's office stamp.  Is that going to be sufficient? 

 

Yes... I can tell you from experience on this. I had something from the 1990s I had to disclose and I got an RFE for the official documents. In the case of the arrest records, I sent them a printout of the email I got from the state police stating that due to the age of the records, they were not available because they had been purged and destroyed and USCIS accepted that.

[Bigfish1972 2]

17 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Yes, if the specific first communication was requested and was in Spanish, you'll need to include a translation and for the translator to certify it.  Use an image of the conversation, not just a transcription or copy and paste.  Copying and pasting text is not evidence.

Thanks for your reply.  As I stated originally, they are screenshots of the conversation, not copied and pasted text.  Dates are on there too.

So I really need a certified translator to translate that?  USCIS considers it on the same level as a birth certificate or divorce decree?  That’s frustrating.

[Bigfish1972 2]

36 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

Yes... I can tell you from experience on this. I had something from the 1990s I had to disclose and I got an RFE for the official documents. In the case of the arrest records, I sent them a printout of the email I got from the state police stating that due to the age of the records, they were not available because they had been purged and destroyed and USCIS accepted that.

Good to know!  Thanks much!

[pushbrk 14,552]

24 minutes ago, Bigfish1972 said:

Thanks for your reply.  As I stated originally, they are screenshots of the conversation, not copied and pasted text.  Dates are on there too.

So I really need a certified translator to translate that?  USCIS considers it on the same level as a birth certificate or divorce decree?  That’s frustrating.

Not a certified translator.  In this context there is no such thing.  The translator certifies they are fluent in both languages and that the translation is correct and complete.  Yes, the certified translation is required because the communication was specifically requested.

[Bigfish1972 2]

43 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Not a certified translator.  In this context there is no such thing.  The translator certifies they are fluent in both languages and that the translation is correct and complete.  Yes, the certified translation is required because the communication was specifically requested.

How is the translator going to certify it if they aren't a certified translator?  I'm not trying to be funny here, just searching for clarification.  My fiancee speaks fluent English, and is a medical interpreter for a living.  Can she certify the translation, since she made the translations?  

[pushbrk 14,552]

15 minutes ago, Bigfish1972 said:

How is the translator going to certify it if they aren't a certified translator?  I'm not trying to be funny here, just searching for clarification.  My fiancee speaks fluent English, and is a medical interpreter for a living.  Can she certify the translation, since she made the translations?  

 

As you already stated in your first post, "If you submit a document in any language other than English, the document must be accompanied by a full and complete English translation.  The translator must certify that the translation is accurate and he or she is competent to translate from that language to English".  There's nothing in there about the  translator being certified by anybody or any organization.  Yes, anybody fluent in both languages, also competent and willing, can certify a translation, even if they are the author of what is being translated.

[Edward and Jaycel 2,684]

20 minutes ago, Bigfish1972 said:

How is the translator going to certify it if they aren't a certified translator?  I'm not trying to be funny here, just searching for clarification.  My fiancee speaks fluent English, and is a medical interpreter for a living.  Can she certify the translation, since she made the translations?  

 

They certify (or in other words swear) that the translation they made is accurate and they certify (or in other words swear) that they are competent to translate from that language to English. They don't have to be a "certified translator" to be able to swear to these two facts. They just have to swear out a statement, "under penalty of perjury" that the translation they made is accurate and that they are competent and attach it to the "document". Your fiancée can do this as long as she can legally swear to these two facts.

[pushbrk 14,552]

12 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

They certify (or in other words swear) that the translation they made is accurate and they certify (or in other words swear) that they are competent to translate from that language to English. They don't have to be a "certified translator" to be able to swear to these two facts. They just have to swear out a statement, "under penalty of perjury" that the translation they made is accurate and that they are competent and attach it to the "document". Your fiancée can do this as long as she can legally swear to these two facts.

I suppose the translator is "under the penalty of perjury" but the translator does not need to include that phrase in their certification.

[Edward and Jaycel 2,684]

2 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I suppose the translator is "under the penalty of perjury" but the translator does not need to include that phrase in their certification.

 

Yes I should have made that clear that I just meant that by certifying to USCIS, they would technically be making the certification under penalty of perjury