translations for police certificates

[wayno 9]

My wife is Colombian but will be going through the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica as that is where we were married and she is a resident there. Of course both countries speak spanish.

Our marriage certifacate and her divorce certificate were both translated and authenticated before I sent the copy's in for the I-130 and I-129F.

My question is how about the police certificates from Colombia and Costa Rica. I have read that since the country we are doing this out of speaks the same language(spanish) as her documents are in they don't have to be translated. But they have to be mailed to the NVC which is in the U.S. So my question is do the police certificates have to be translated as well? I did not see where they had to be in the instructions for the ds-230. It was clearly instructed for the I-129f and I-130 packets to translate all foreign documents. Am I missing something in the instructions for the DS-230.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Mononoke28 135]

My wife is Colombian but will be going through the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica as that is where we were married and she is a resident there. Of course both countries speak spanish.

Our marriage certifacate and her divorce certificate were both translated and authenticated before I sent the copy's in for the I-130 and I-129F.

My question is how about the police certificates from Colombia and Costa Rica. I have read that since the country we are doing this out of speaks the same language(spanish) as her documents are in they don't have to be translated. But they have to be mailed to the NVC which is in the U.S. So my question is do the police certificates have to be translated as well? I did not see where they had to be in the instructions for the ds-230. It was clearly instructed for the I-129f and I-130 packets to translate all foreign documents. Am I missing something in the instructions for the DS-230.

Thanks,

Wayne

Wayne,

According to the U.S. Department of State web site, they don't have to be if they are in the official language of the country in which application for a visa is being made, which coincides with the DS-230 instructions you received from the NVC.

Diana

[sunflower15 0]

Yes, they have to be translated. You have to go to http://travel.state.gov/visa/ and look for where all the info from the US consulate in CR is. You have to print a letter, go to the embassy to have their approval. After that, you go to where you have to go ( i think it's OIJ) then go to the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Casa Amarilla), then translate it, then back to Casa Amarilla then to the embassy again and pay $30. After that, you're free to send it to NVC. Remember the police certificate expires after 30 days!