English translations of foreign documents

[Chris-n-Veronica 0]

Thankyou Callina for explaining it better ......

Romanian and Moldavian are one and the same language. In other words, Moldavian is the Romanian language spoken in the Republic of Moldavia. As the latter was ruptured from the territory of Romania and attached to the USSR following World War II, the language itself suffered from the process of forced Russification; it now bears the results of the influence of the Russian language at the level of pronunciation and - to little extent - to that of the vocabulary. But, linguistically speaking, it is incorrect to define the language spoken by the Romanians living in the R of M as "Moldavian". It was referred to as Moldavian by the authorities of those times so that they would develop a feeling of estrangement from their true roots and get closer emotionally to the political goals of their new country.

I regard the above explanation as a mere act of justice towards the Romanian language spoken in Moldova. I surely hope the ones of Russian or Ukrainian nationality don't feel in any way offended. Normal, ordinary people have always lived in peace and harmony there. They have established ethnically-mixed families and put into practice the policy of love and understanding.

For fwaguy: Your fiancee won't have any problems with her translated documents as long as they bear the signature of a certified translator and have been notarized at a notary public's office. And a question: Do the English translations show a phrase such as "translation from Ukrainian" or "translation from Moldavian/Romanian"? If they show the former phrase, your fiancee should also have her Ukrainian translations with her at the interview to be able to prove the course of action if they request it. God bless you both!

[Turboguy 6]

Yes, you are right FWAGuy. That makes sense.

[lucyrich 20]

The problem with the two-step translation is that the original document needs to be accompanied by an English translation of the original document, signed by one individual who certifies that they are competent in English and the original language, and that the translation is accurate.

If one individual knows both English and Moldovian, and can certify that the English is an accurate translation of the Moldovian, then there's no problem. But then there's no need to submit the Ukranian intermediate step.

The USCIS rules have already been posted, but the source law comes from 8 CFR part 1003, as posted on the USCIS website:

§ 1003.33 Translation of documents.

Any foreign language document offered by a party in a proceeding shall be accompanied by an English language translation and a certification signed by the translator that must be printed legibly or typed. Such certification must include a statement that the translator is competent to translate the document, and that the translation is true and accurate to the best of the translator's abilities.

No notarization of any sort is ever required for any translations. The translator doesn't need to be certified. The USCIS doesn't recognize any agency to certify translators. The translation needs to be certified (by the translator). The USCIS suggested format for the certification is:

Certification by Translator

I, typed name, certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ____ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ___.

Signature

Date Typed Name

Address

[Callina 1]

I am sorry to have to contradict you, lucyrich, but in countries such as Romania, Ukraine or Moldova, the translations signed by any sworn translator are recognized as long as the latter's signature is certified by a notary public. Fwaguy says he had them translated at a specialized agency in Ukraine, meaning his papers followed all the steps considered legal in the above-mentioned countries. Also, if the final translations - the ones into English - bear the phrase "Translation from Ukrainian" (as any properly translated document should), he needs to provide USCIS with the intermediate phase documents: the Ukrainian translations. Let's not forget that the originals are in Romanian. Of course, fwaguy has another option, he can choose to find a person living in the US and speaking both Romanian and English and ask him/her to translate his documents as you indicated in your post.

[aussiewench 9]

I am sorry to have to contradict you, lucyrich, but in countries such as Romania, Ukraine or Moldova, the translations signed by any sworn translator are recognized as long as the latter's signature is certified by a notary public. Fwaguy says he had them translated at a specialized agency in Ukraine, meaning his papers followed all the steps considered legal in the above-mentioned countries. Also, if the final translations - the ones into English - bear the phrase "Translation from Ukrainian" (as any properly translated document should), he needs to provide USCIS with the intermediate phase documents: the Ukrainian translations. Let's not forget that the originals are in Romanian. Of course, fwaguy has another option, he can choose to find a person living in the US and speaking both Romanian and English and ask him/her to translate his documents as you indicated in your post.

There is a difference as to what is required by DOS (consulates) then what is required and accepted at USCIS when filing the petition. lucyrich was citing USCIS rules for when filing the petition.

Edited November 12, 2006 by aussiewench

[Callina 1]

Yes, aussiewench, I understand that, but fwaguy wants to submit the translations done in Ukraine.

[aussiewench 9]

Yes, aussiewench, I understand that, but fwaguy wants to submit the translations done in Ukraine.

Then certification by a notary public would be done for interview stage. There is no need to go to the added expense of using a notary public for translations at USCIS stage, regardless of consulate or embassy the beneficiary will be applying to for a visa. It is not required by USCIS.

[Callina 1]

His papers are already notarized, if I understand well. His problem is whether to submit the Ukrainian intermediate translations or not, since the originals are in Romanian and the English translations bear the phrase "Translation from Ukrainian".

[payxibka 10,044]

Yes, aussiewench, I understand that, but fwaguy wants to submit the translations done in Ukraine.

Then certification by a notary public would be done for interview stage. There is no need to go to the added expense of using a notary public for translations at USCIS stage, regardless of consulate or embassy the beneficiary will be applying to for a visa. It is not required by USCIS.

Actually what I am tying to do is both.... She went ahead and had all the documents translated based on the "embassy" standard (if I can call it that) which resulted in a process that may be superior but nonetheless different than the lesser USCIS standard.....

[aussiewench 9]

Yes, aussiewench, I understand that, but fwaguy wants to submit the translations done in Ukraine.

Then certification by a notary public would be done for interview stage. There is no need to go to the added expense of using a notary public for translations at USCIS stage, regardless of consulate or embassy the beneficiary will be applying to for a visa. It is not required by USCIS.

Actually what I am tying to do is both.... She went ahead and had all the documents translated based on the "embassy" standard (if I can call it that) which resulted in a process that may be superior but nonetheless different than the lesser USCIS standard.....

Which may or may not cause confusion to the one adjudicating the petition when it is not the standard. I really honestly don't know. If many others have submitted 2 translations, and had no issues, then I would go with their experiences.