Certified Translator

[honbako 1]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through the different posts about certified translations. In the I-129F instructions it says:

Translations. Any document containing foreign language submitted to the Service 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.

I know I might be asking something that may be apparently obvious, but who is the translator? I or my fiancee can translate the documents ourselves (and that would seem to be the easiest/best route to go), but the I-129F instructions are a bit vague on whether that's allowed or not. I've also seen different posts which says the translator should be a 3rd party and some posts which seem to suggest that one can translate the documentation on one's own. Also does 'certified' mean that translator has to be licensed in some fashion and have some kind of stamp or notary to prove the certification?

Could anyone who has had 1st hand experience with this be kind enough to shed light on this matter? Thanks a bunch!

Edited February 23, 2010 by honbako

[honbako 1]

I spent some more time digging and found this particular post under: Certified Translation of our Marriage Certificate. I'm linking to it here in case others are looking for the information. Thanks to lucyrich for writing this.

[spencer12 0]

I was wondering about this too, we know either one of us can translate any of our documents, and we know about the statement that has to be included stating that the translations are correct and the person is fluent in both the English and foreign language at hand.

However the thing that I’m wondering is does the statement have to be placed and signed on each of the documents placed in the package needing translation? or can you just put the statement on a single piece of paper and state that all the translations in this package have been translated by this person and they are fluent in both languages and correct?

[baron555 934]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through the different posts about certified translations. In the I-129F instructions it says:

I know I might be asking something that may be apparently obvious, but who is the translator? I or my fiancee can translate the documents ourselves (and that would seem to be the easiest/best route to go), but the I-129F instructions are a bit vague on whether that's allowed or not. I've also seen different posts which says the translator should be a 3rd party and some posts which seem to suggest that one can translate the documentation on one's own. Also does 'certified' mean that translator has to be licensed in some fashion and have some kind of stamp or notary to prove the certification?

Could anyone who has had 1st hand experience with this be kind enough to shed light on this matter? Thanks a bunch!

You can be the certified translator as long as you can honestly make the translation. There is no "official" certification of being this translator except that you sign a short statement that you have the ability and you have made an honest translation.

[honbako 1]

I was wondering about this too, we know either one of us can translate any of our documents, and we know about the statement that has to be included stating that the translations are correct and the person is fluent in both the English and foreign language at hand.

However the thing that I’m wondering is does the statement have to be placed and signed on each of the documents placed in the package needing translation? or can you just put the statement on a single piece of paper and state that all the translations in this package have been translated by this person and they are fluent in both languages and correct?

I'm not sure about this myself. My initial guess is that one would have to include a statement for each one, though it makes sense logically that one could use just one statement for everything. Perhaps someone who's already done this will be able to shed some more light on the issue.

You can be the certified translator as long as you can honestly make the translation. There is no "official" certification of being this translator except that you sign a short statement that you have the ability and you have made an honest translation.

Thank you for confirming this; it makes getting things done a lot easier now.

[pushbrk 12,881]

I'm not sure about this myself. My initial guess is that one would have to include a statement for each one, though it makes sense logically that one could use just one statement for everything. Perhaps someone who's already done this will be able to shed some more light on the issue.

Thank you for confirming this; it makes getting things done a lot easier now.

You are right to ask instead of guess. First it's the translations that are certified to be correct, not certified translator doing the translations. Each document requiring translation will need a certified translation with the certification appearing as part of the actual translated document. Just add the certification and signature at the bottom of the translation.

[Rosie + Yu 0]

We did our own translations for the birth certificate and it was accepted. Just remember to add a statement saying it is a certified translation with your signature and date.

[honbako 1]

Thank you everyone for the replies. We'll be translating the documents ourselves.