The U.S.C.I.S. or United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is the government organization that handles virtually all immigration applications into the country, whether it’s for work visas, business visas or family visas. They are, as a consequence, the biggest recipient of birth certificate translations as well. If you have been accepted for entry into the United States for employment or other purposes and your language is not English the U.S.C.I.S. has set a requirement that all documents, including birth certificates, be translated into English before full acceptance into the country can be formalized.
If you are in this position, you will need to follow a process before starting to seek a suitable translator. You will first need to check with the U.S.C.I.S. which non-English written documents they need translations for apart from a birth certificate translation. This will save you time as you can present all the documents to your chosen translator at the same time and once they have been accurately translated submit them to the U.S.C.I.S. for approval.
Depending on the visa status you are applying for, there are documents such as degree and diploma certificates, police clearance certificates from your country of origin, medical certificates and references from previous employers that may require translations as well as your birth certificate. If your family is accompanying you to the U.S., you will require a birth certificate translation for each person if the birth certificate is not in English. Quite a lot of paperwork needs to be arranged before the USCIS will finally approve your visa application.
It’s important to get the best translator. This should not necessarily be a bilingual friend, but someone who has proven experience with a U.S.C.I.S. standard birth certificate translation. You can’t do the translation yourself as this is not permitted by the U.S.C.I.S. The translator you choose will have to certify that he or she is sufficiently qualified in the two languages to perform an accurate translation. This certification has to be accompanied by a statement vouching that the translation is accurate which has to be signed.
As you will no doubt be virtually fluent in the two languages you should check every birth certificate translation carefully before submitting it to the U.S.C.I.S. This helps to make sure there are no delays in the time it takes to approve your visa application. If you are issued with an R.F.E., which is a request for further evidence, and you don’t match the request in a certain time frame, this could lead to a denial of your application to enter the U.S.A.
