Translating Your Documents for USCIS: Is English a Must?

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires a wide range of documents to be submitted as part of various immigration applications. These documents may include birth certificates, marriage certificates, educational certificates, financial records, and more.

However, some of these documents may not be in English. Do these documents have to be translated?

Yes, all documents submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must be in English or be accompanied by a certified English translation.

This requirement applies to both personal and legal documents, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, educational certificates, and more.

The translator must provide accurate and certified translations to English. USCIS may reject documents that are not properly translated.

USCIS authority to request certified English translations comes from 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).

Authority to require certified English translations for all documents is derived from 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3):

Translations. Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.

8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)

The person certifying the translation must that state they are fluent in English and the foreign language, and that the translation is accurate. The certification should include the certifier’s name, signature, address, and date of certification.

USCIS requires many documents to be submitted as part of the immigration process, it is essential to be mindful of the language of the documents and make sure that any documents not in English are translated accurately and certified before submission.

Below is a sample provided by The United States Department of Justice which satisfies the same regulatory requirements: