Translation of Birth certificate

[Pinkix 0]

Hey guys!!

I already send all my paper work, but unfortunately today I received a letter from the USCIS, requesting for my birth certificate. I didn’t send it the first time, cause I thought with my passport was more than enough, and also cause it was in Spanish.

Now reading this web page… http://www.usabal.com/permres/AOS/birth_cert_info.html

In the bottom of the page says that to translate a document it doesn’t need to be trahnlate by a certify interpreter, is just enough if its not a family member. That information is correct? Can I ask to any of my friends to do the translation for me? Or does somebody knows where can I translate my birth certificate??? I am in Orlando. Thanks so much!!

[Elphie 0]

On the Department of State webpage --> Instructions on Standard NVC processing

On page 4 of the instructions it states:

Translations

Applicants must obtain English language translations of any documents that are written in another language.

The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the:

• Translation is accurate, and

• Translator is competent to translate.

This means the person who is doing the translating for you must be a certified translator. Hope this helps.

Editing my post b/c I just saw you were going through AOS. I'm sure the same still applies though. Use a certified translator.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Ereshkigal

[hhN400 3]

Anybody who is fluent in both English and the foreign language can do the translations. I translated all German documents of my wife into English and the translations were accepted without any problems. Of course, one does have to sign a statement certifying that one is fluent in both languages and that the respective documents are accurate translations of the originals, but to be able to do that one does not need to be a professional translator.

[Elphie 0]

I took the instructions at face value and thought you needed a certified translator. It never occured to me you could do this yourself.

[Jasman0717 8]

Claudeth was fluent in German but still had to have her police report translated. Of course, that was for the consulate in Manila.

[hhN400 3]

I took the instructions at face value and thought you needed a certified translator. It never occured to me you could do this yourself.

Well, yes, when I first read the instructions I also thought that one would need a certified translator, but upon careful re-reading I realized that it's not necessary. It's simply the difference between being a certified translator and someone who is capable of certifying his/her translations. It is the latter that is required (and, of course, that certification must stand up to further scrutiny).

[hhN400 3]

Claudeth was fluent in German but still had to have her police report translated. Of course, that was for the consulate in Manila.

Yes, some consulates require professional translations if the foreign language is not the language of the country where the consulate is located. So this applies only to third-country documents, and in such cases the requirements are stated very explicitly.

[radsr2002 0]

Hey guys!!

I already send all my paper work, but unfortunately today I received a letter from the USCIS, requesting for my birth certificate. I didn’t send it the first time, cause I thought with my passport was more than enough, and also cause it was in Spanish.

Now reading this web page… http://www.usabal.com/permres/AOS/birth_cert_info.html

In the bottom of the page says that to translate a document it doesn’t need to be trahnlate by a certify interpreter, is just enough if its not a family member. That information is correct? Can I ask to any of my friends to do the translation for me? Or does somebody knows where can I translate my birth certificate??? I am in Orlando. Thanks so much!!

Susana Rosende

Technical Publications Supervisor: Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund; President: Write Way Designs, Inc.

Orlando, Florida Area

Current

Technical Publications Supervisor at Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund (ATIF or The Fund)

President at Write Way Designs, Inc.

Past

Senior Technical Writer at Phoenix International

Technical Writer at John H. Harland Corporation

Technical Translator (English/Spanish) at Fiserv Corporation

2 more...

Education

Valencia and Seminole Community Colleges

University of Central Florida

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick

CONTACT:

407-492-6572 and susana@writewaydesigns.com

********************************************

just in case you need 1

Rick

[lucyrich 19]

First, realize that the rules for the Department of State (consulates) are different from the rules for the USCIS (petition). Consulates vary from one country to another; most will accept English or the native language of the country where they're located without translation. When a consulate DOES require translation, you'll have to ask them about their particular rules. But note that OP has an issue with the USCIS, so consular rules are irrelevant here.

For the USCIS, the requirements are clearly spelled out on their instructions. Anyone can translate, as long as they can certify that they have the required language ability and that the translation is true and correct. The USCIS doesn't recognize any certification of translators, but they require that a translator sign a statement certifying that the translator has the ability to translate and that the translation is correct.

There's no prohibition on people close to the case doing the translation, though if it makes you feel better to hire an uninterested third party, there's no harm in doing so. One should expect that one's translation may be subject to review at the consulate, where there will be people fluent in both languages. A material misrepresentation in the translation would be a very bad thing to be caught with. I personally did the translation of the birth certificate for our case. I have no formal language credentials, but plenty of fluency. It wasn't a problem.

[Pinkix 0]

thanks so much guys!! i will ask a friend to do it for me, it will save me some money. I am sending this to the USCIS.

[saradanielle 2]

well, I would play it safe and just have it translated by a certified translator... you don´t want them to send it back to you later -- if you have the time, anyway; when I got mine done, it was only a couple of days.

that´s my opinion!

[lucyrich 19]

well, I would play it safe and just have it translated by a certified translator

Problem is, the USCIS doesn't certify translators, nor does it recognize any agency that does certify translators. So what credential do you look for to determine if a translator is "certified"?

If a translator or translation service claims they are somehow certified to do translations for the USCIS, they are misleading at best, or, depending on how they word their claim, perhaps outright lying. Personally, I would not trust something as important as immigration work to someone who either had such questionable ethics or such a profound misunderstanding of the rules to make such a claim.

If they merely claim they have certain credentials, without claiming or implying that those credentials give them any special authority to do USCIS translation work, that could be a reasonable claim.