RFE advice needed - Cuba

[snowjoe 0]

I received RFE's for my spouse and my stepson. I have spoken with USCIS and know eveything to do ..... almost. I made mistakes on the I-130's. I was told to write a letter stating the were my mistakes. Okay.

All of my Spanish translations were rejected because they were not certified. I was told that to be certified someone fluent in English and Spanish had to "certify" that the translations were accurate and that document would require their signature. Okay.

Here is what I didn't get a satisfactory answer to. One of the paragraphs of the RFE states:

Additionally, the birth certificates submitted for the beneficiary and his mother does not indicate whether the documents are valid (to be used) In Cuba, Abroad or both. Please submit a birth certificate for the beneficiary and his mother that is valid for use in the United States.

I have no idea what to do about this and I received no other advice for a level 2 USCIS support person other than get a certified translation. Has anyone had any experience with something like this?

[Boggy1974 124]

Maybe you can post this in the Cuba regional subforum to generate specific responses. Or you can request a mod move it for you. Good luck.

[calygirl75 12]

Sorry to hear you hit a snag.

I submitted my marriage certificate that was issued in Cuba to the USCIS. The document that issued in Cuba has to have language that states "para surtir efecto en" and then the proper authorities need to add their official seal and stamp to it. This cannot be done in the US, it has to be done in Cuba and your cuban relatives need to buy los "sellos". I would have them go back to the office that issued these documents and tell them that the documents that they are issuing need to be issued so that they "surtir effect en el extranjero". They should have told you this at the time issue if they knew they were to be used outside of Cuba. Good luck.

[calygirl75 12]

By the way, I'm not sure why a Tier 2 person told you that you need to "certify the translation". If your interview is in Havana and your documents are in spanish you won't have a problem. Like you, I took it a step further and translated my husband's birth certificate and our marriage certificate then went to a notary who stamped my translations as well as my statement that this was an accurate translation. This was accepted by the USCIS. hopefully others in this forum that have submitted documents to the USCIS for Cuban relatives can chime in and share their results. me thinks something is amiss here.

[pepper44 18]

wait.. if I file for by Cuban a k1 visa I have to have the documents translated to spanish?? His birth certificate of course will be in spanish since he is the cuban but my documents are american issued and will not be in spanish. Do they need to be in spanish?

Please say no..

[calygirl75 12]

wait.. if I file for by Cuban a k1 visa I have to have the documents translated to spanish?? His birth certificate of course will be in spanish since he is the cuban but my documents are american issued and will not be in spanish. Do they need to be in spanish?

Please say no..

No worries. Your submital for the K1 is to the USCIS, therefore your US issued documents will be in english as they should be. No need to translate to any other language.

[snowjoe 0]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I did have to get a special marriage certificate and also take it to the US Interest Section to have it legalized. Many many people have told me that they don't do that for birth certificates but the language in the RFE seems to contradict that. It is very specific language. My relatives in Havana are going to ask again. When we got the birth certificates we did ask and were told that other types of birth certificates were not available.

As a side note all of my Spanish translations were rejected because they were not certified in the United States. We used the official translation office in Havana that I was referred to by the employees in the US Interest Section. I guess they were wrong. ESTI is the office I used.This is the link: http://www.ecn.org/asicuba/cuba/esti_ing.htm

So, please don't use them.

Edited February 16, 2014 by snowjoe

[calygirl75 12]

Yikes, good tip for those out there translating foreign issued documents to the USCIS. if you choose to translate, make sure they are authorized to translate or notarize in the US.

Even though you are double checking in Cuba about valid issued documents "para surgir effecto en"... you should escalate your call within the USCIS in order to provide more clarity if they are refering to all foreign issued documents that you submitted in your packet or if its one in particular that is not meeting their requirements. Just to be clear.

For example: I submitted our cuban issued marriage certificate to the USCIS which had the proper stamps/sellos to be used abroad. However, my husband's birth certificate was issued by his hometown's registrar's office. this official document was submitted in my I-130 pakcet and was accepted by the USCIS without requesting other legalities/stamps/seals, etc.