USCIS Translation: What you need to provide to the US Immigration Services?
Civil documents copies and vital records of statistics are often required by the US Immigration Services from other countries to be tendered alongside a lot of applications such as application for naturalization.
If you are from another country and you plan to travel to the United States, you should first check with their Bureau of Consular Affairs and see exactly whatever documents you need to have with you (like civil documents and vital record of statistic).
You should also know that the US Immigration Services Bureau has put in place translation regulations, which you can find on their website. You will be able to find great expert advice about the steps you need to take for filing your application.
What you need to provide to the US Immigration Services
Do I need certified translation?
The following translation information is also available on the page.
“ Please accompany all documents in foreign language with certified translation. The translator must vouch for the accuracy of the translation and must certify that she or he is a competent translator.”
The format of the certification should include date of certification, address, signature and name of the certified person signing the document. On their website, you can also find a suggested format for the certification, which Universal Translation Services will provide if you decide to use our certified translation services.
Can I submit copies instead of the original certification?
The latest regulations of the US Immigration Services Bureau allow you to submit “ordinary legible photocopies of such documents” and in most cases, those will be fully accepted by USCIS. However, depending on the officer, original documents may still be required in individual cases, so you should always check with the officer assigned to your case before asking for a translation.
UTS is able to provide you with USCIS certified translation with delivery by email, but we also provide postal delivery in case you need the original documents. We can also provide notarized translation if you need it. You first need to inquire the US Immigration Services Bureau and see exactly what you need, as it is really depending on each case.
Some other tips you should be aware of
Will there be any delay with my case?
If you know exactly what you need and you let UTS provide the translations for you, there won’t be any delays in your case, as all our translations are fully accepted by the USCIS. Delays may appear if you’re using bad translations done by friends who are bilingual or by freelancers who aren’t versed with USCIS requirements. If you try to do the translation yourself it won’t be considered certified translation and there will be delays until you provide proper translation.
Special Circumstances
The US immigration office has been active and dealing with various nationalities for many decades. Due to fraud coming from some countries, they have special guidelines to follow for some countries, and in case a person is originating from a country they had problems with before, that person may need to present some other documents along with the usual ones. These rules and regulations should be looked into by foreigners when considering immigrating in the United States.
For example China and all other nations from Asia should take the rule into account which states that all immigrants have to possess divorce certificates from their spouse in their native country if they want to marry a person in the United States, whether an immigrant or a citizen. This rule has been implemented to ensure that no one marries in the United States while being already married in their country.
There are many similar rules that are here to ensure that the United States laws are obeyed by the immigrants. Any person wanting to immigrate should first talk to the USCIS and see if there are any special circumstances for their country of origin. This will make things easier in knowing what documents are needed and will ensure that the application is not rejected due to missing elements.
How important is notarization?
Even though notarization is not mandatory at the USCIS, there may be cases where some documents would need notarized translation. All the documents that have been notarized have a greater chance of clearing the immigration office than the documents that are not notarized.
The documents that are notarized are never disqualified by the office of US immigration. As they are always cleared, they are much more advisable than the documents that are only certified.
The best way to have your documents accepted by the US Immigration Services?
- Get in touch with USCIS and get a list of what you need. Depending on each case, originals may be required, sometimes even notarization of the translation.
- Get in touch with Universal Translation Services and provide us the list and copies of the documents which need to be translated.
- Accept our quote so we can start working on your documents.
- Receive the translated documents and submit them to the USCIS in the required format, along with copies of your original documents.
Conclusion
The US immigration services receive countless documents every day and they have an enormous amount of paperwork to swift through in one day. They do not dwell on misunderstandings and possible dotting of the ‘I’s that will save an application from rejection. If they find a problem in a document, they do not have the luxury of hesitating to pull the plug.
Before spending your money, time and effort on getting the documents done, you should make sure you have all required documents in good order before submitting them to the US Immigration Services. By doing so you’ll have the highest chances that your documents will be accepted and there won’t be any delays associated with your case.
