Translated or transliterated on immigration forms?

[TomT2566 1]

97 Zholdasbekov Street, apartment 15 or ulitsa Zholdasbekova 97, kvartira 15?

Has anyone seen a USCIS reference which indicates that we should use one system or the other?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

97 Zholdasbekov Street, apartment 15 or ulitsa Zholdasbekova 97, kvartira 15?

Has anyone seen a USCIS reference which indicates that we should use one system or the other?

You should write foreign addresses exactly as you would to address mail to that address, translated to English. Transliterating really does nothing but help you pronounce the word with familiar letter sounds. The order of number, street, city and postal code is not important to USCIS. Write it exactly as you would to mail a letter.

[TomT2566 1]

Your reasoning for favoring a translated address over a transliterated address is a bit fuzzy and it is at odds with the current transliterated system for surnames and given names.

[pushbrk 12,892]

Your reasoning for favoring a translated address over a transliterated address is a bit fuzzy and it is at odds with the current transliterated system for surnames and given names.

I found it a bit fuzzy too. I agree you want to write the address exactly as you would to send mail. However, in China I want the mailing address in Chinese. It doesn't have to be but it's more reliable that way. I only write "China" in "English". When I write a Chinese name it IS a transliteration but when I write the address on a form, I use a "translation".

For those who don't have this problem, (anybody with a language written with the Roman alphabet, ABC etc.) there is usually no translation of the address and it's not possible to transliterate within the same alphabet. I'm not at all sure than in this context it makes any difference whether the address is translated or transliterated as long as the address in native characters is correct. Nevertheless, I do use translation.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Your reasoning for favoring a translated address over a transliterated address is a bit fuzzy and it is at odds with the current transliterated system for surnames and given names.

Sorry for being fuzzy. Let me try to clarify. Our address in Donetsk transliterates to (Street name and number) "Dom 140, Kabiniyet 37" It translates to (Street name and number) "Building 140, Apartment 37"

For the I-129f and G-325a I used the translation of the address, not the transliteration. Transliteration simply states the Russian (or other language) word in Roman letters which produce the same or similar sound in pronunciation, it is not a translation and does not necessarily make any sense in English. There is a place on the form to write the name and address of the beneficiary in the native alphabet. I DID use the exact "format" of the address as used in Ukraine which is not the same as the common format used here.

For example the Russian word for "Hello" transliterates to "Zdrastvootye" but if I go around saying "Zdrastvootye" to English speaking people, or use it as a salutation in a letter who will know what the heck I am saying? Even a Russian would have a hard time reading it!

You have little choice with proper names but to Transliterate them. There being no "translation" for proper names. "Alla" is "Alla" regardless of the alphabet used.

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

I don't think there's a single hard and fast rule that governs here.

In the OP's case, it sounds like Gary and Alla's situation is closest, and the advice offered is sound.

To look at a contrasting example, my fiancee is Korean. When using Roman characters for Korean addresses, the address is simply Romanized—i.e., transliterated. To translate the address would make little or no sense to anyone.

[Septembergold 0]

we asked ourselves the same question... my address in Russia is Bulvar Yamasheva dom 19... so we just wrote - Yamasheva st,. building 19. didn`t have any problems.