Do I have to translate E-mails & MSN chat?

[Negrito Landrau 2]

Hello everyone! First of all thank you for this great website. This is my first post. I am collecting all the documents I need to send the package for I-129F application. I am sending some pages with copy of MSN conversation between my fiance and I as proof of communication after we met. Since I can speak perfect Spanish and she does not speak any English at all, we always communicate in Spanish. My question is: Do I need to translate all the chatting? It is a lot!! I also want to know if somebody in this group have a sample copy of a Dominican birth of certificate already translated to English. My fiance sent me her BC but it really contains words that I haven't heard before and Spanish is my first language!!. It will be a great help if someone can help me in this matter. Thank you very much to all of you. I am very happy that I found this group.

[claudia2212 0]

Hello everyone! First of all thank you for this great website. This is my first post. I am collecting all the documents I need to send the package for I-129F application. I am sending some pages with copy of MSN conversation between my fiance and I as proof of communication after we met. Since I can speak perfect Spanish and she does not speak any English at all, we always communicate in Spanish. My question is: Do I need to translate all the chatting? It is a lot!! I also want to know if somebody in this group have a sample copy of a Dominican birth of certificate already translated to English. My fiance sent me her BC but it really contains words that I haven't heard before and Spanish is my first language!!. It will be a great help if someone can help me in this matter. Thank you very much to all of you. I am very happy that I found this group.

welcome to VJ!!! Well i am glad you are getting the hang of this process and I wish you luck throughout your journey!! Well as for the emails and chat conversations if you have the time to translate them go ahead but if not just select a few emails and translate them....you will need to send a letter of her describing how you met and that will be in her native language...as for the birth certificate, i dont have a Dominican BC sample but you can go to a place where they can translate it for you (notary office) I am not sure how much they'll charge you. I hired a lawyer which he did all that stuff but it is expensive....Good luck again!

[Coleen 2]

Hello...

You DON'T HAVE TO translate chat logs or e-mails. We didn't do that and our e-mails were in Bosnian. I bet that there's no one in USCIS speaking that language yet there certainly is someone speaking Spanish. Do not worry about e-mails and chat logs- those aren't official documents so there's no need for translating them. If you are in the process of preparing your I-129F packet I really don't think you need your fiancee's Birth certificate, all you need from the person you are petitioning for is her G-325A biographic form (signed), Letter of Intent to Marry (signed) and visa type picture taken within one month (30 days) of filing for K1. If you aren't sure about what to send , they will help a lot.

Good luck.

[Coleen 2]

You do not need to hire a lawyer because you can find out about anything you want here, on VJ. So far, I have seen three cases (out of 4) where lawyers have done things wrongly. Their goal is not to help you with this process but to rip you off and earn money- that is why they exist, so in most cases they make mistakes (simply because they don't care about your process as much as you do). You can finish this process by yourself and if you have any questions or uncertainties you can always ask someone here (I'd suggest older members).

[payxibka 10,045]

Hello...

You DON'T HAVE TO translate chat logs or e-mails. We didn't do that and our e-mails were in Bosnian. I bet that there's no one in USCIS speaking that language yet there certainly is someone speaking Spanish. Do not worry about e-mails and chat logs- those aren't official documents so there's no need for translating them. If you are in the process of preparing your I-129F packet I really don't think you need your fiancee's Birth certificate, all you need from the person you are petitioning for is her G-325A biographic form (signed), Letter of Intent to Marry (signed) and visa type picture taken within one month (30 days) of filing for K1. If you aren't sure about what to send , they will help a lot.

Good luck.

You do not need to translate e-mails and chats because you DO NOT need this type of evidence for the I-129f.... If you include non-English evidence and you want it considered for the USCIS then translate it... If you do not translate non-English documents then do not send them... they will be ignored...

[Negrito Landrau 2]

Hello...

You DON'T HAVE TO translate chat logs or e-mails. We didn't do that and our e-mails were in Bosnian. I bet that there's no one in USCIS speaking that language yet there certainly is someone speaking Spanish. Do not worry about e-mails and chat logs- those aren't official documents so there's no need for translating them. If you are in the process of preparing your I-129F packet I really don't think you need your fiancee's Birth certificate, all you need from the person you are petitioning for is her G-325A biographic form (signed), Letter of Intent to Marry (signed) and visa type picture taken within one month (30 days) of filing for K1. If you aren't sure about what to send , they will help a lot.

Good luck.

Thank you Coleen for your response. I already checked the guides and I am following them step by step. This site have been a blessing to me! I am not sending my fiance's BC now, but I know I will need it in the future and I am just working ahead of time to be ready. Thanks for your help!!

[payxibka 10,045]

Hello...

You DON'T HAVE TO translate chat logs or e-mails. We didn't do that and our e-mails were in Bosnian. I bet that there's no one in USCIS speaking that language yet there certainly is someone speaking Spanish. Do not worry about e-mails and chat logs- those aren't official documents so there's no need for translating them. If you are in the process of preparing your I-129F packet I really don't think you need your fiancee's Birth certificate, all you need from the person you are petitioning for is her G-325A biographic form (signed), Letter of Intent to Marry (signed) and visa type picture taken within one month (30 days) of filing for K1. If you aren't sure about what to send , they will help a lot.

Good luck.

I would like to know where you find the highlighted section above to be true? Where are you getting this? Please provide a citation...

[TBoneTX 45,328]

You do not need to hire a lawyer because you can find out about anything you want here, on VJ. So far, I have seen three cases (out of 4) where lawyers have done things wrongly. Their goal is not to help you with this process but to rip you off and earn money- that is why they exist, so in most cases they make mistakes (simply because they don't care about your process as much as you do). You can finish this process by yourself and if you have any questions or uncertainties you can always ask someone here (I'd suggest older members).

Although it's true that many people can navigate the process themselves, some people DO require assistance from an attorney and would do well to seek it. To state flatly (and on the basis of a limited sample of three!) that "you do not need to hire a lawyer" and "their [lawyers'] goal is not to help you with this process but to rip you off" is jumping at a sweeping conclusion and is tantamount to offering legal advice itself (that of "you do not need to hire a lawyer"). We here cannot possibly know every aspect of the OP's situation, and therefore we cannot responsibly state that the OP doesn't need a lawyer (now, or later). Plus, it smacks of a prejudiced agenda to post negative things about attorneys when the OP asked nothing about them.

Regarding chat & e-mail logs, USCIS does not care about these (see Gary & Alla's pinned thread in this forum), so it doesn't matter that they're not translated. USCIS will forward all papers to the consulate, where (in the OP's instance) people can read Spanish. The birth certificate WILL have to be translated; perhaps you can find a bilingual employee at a law firm, or at a university, who can help with the tough parts. Or, first, post a request here on VisaJourney in the "Latin American" regional subforum, si man.

[Coleen 2]

Wow.. There are so many interesting people here..

It's not my intention to argue, I have more important things to do. AND I certainly don't have to justify my opinion to anyone.

These are all just opinions and different experiences (99% of posts)- definitely not rules of any kind. Only people who know the actual rules are people working with USCIS, NVC or embassies. So, just leave people who are posting alone and no offending, please. I really think that we are all much or less the same.

[payxibka 10,045]

Wow.. There are so many interesting people here..

It's not my intention to argue, I have more important things to do. AND I certainly don't have to justify my opinion to anyone.

These are all just opinions and different experiences (99% of posts)- definitely not rules of any kind. Only people who know the actual rules are people working with USCIS, NVC or embassies. So, just leave people who are posting alone and no offending, please. I really think that we are all much or less the same.

I will back up my "opinion" with a USCIS source (ie. Instructions to the I-129F):

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.

Does not say any REQUIRED document or any document EXCEPT e-mails.... it simply says ANY...

[Coleen 2]

I will back up my "opinion" with a USCIS source (ie. Instructions to the I-129F):

Does not say any REQUIRED document or any document EXCEPT e-mails.... it simply says ANY...

Know what? I don't really care.. And please, please, stop quoting me. If you understand everything so well then I suppose you know what ''stop'' or ''please'' mean.

And have a nice day/ evening/ night or whatever..

[payxibka 10,045]

Know what? I don't really care.. And please, please, stop quoting me.

I am sorry... I did not realize "quoting" to correct inaccurate information was a TOS violation. My bad.

Edited June 19, 2010 by payxibka

[TBoneTX 45,328]

I am sorry... I did not realize "quoting" to correct inaccurate information was a TOS violation. My bad.

^^ :thumbs: ^^ It's mystifying how drive-by posters can parachute in with wrong information and then become superciliously miffed when others have to step in to correct it.