(Update) RFE for certfied translation :-(

[RiverDeep 7]

Hi VJers

It's been a while since I've been on this site. We had our interview March 11th and have been waiting for a response from USCIS. My husband is adjusting from a B2 visa. Anyway the IO at the time of interview told us the process can take 60 to 90 days although I was hoping to hear something sooner.

Anyway, finally after about 76 days of waiting we received a RFE for a certified or notarized translation of my husbands birth certificate :-(. My husband translated and certified his own BC after receiving information on this site that he could do it himself. The IO glanced at it during the interview and didn't tell us it wasn't acceptable. I would also assume they accepted it before his EAD was approved or we would have gotten an RFE then.

After reading information on the lawyer forums where people ask questions, each answer given was the beneficiary SHOULD NOT translate their own documents. I've read on VJ it has done with no problem.

My assumptions is this

A.) A supervisor reviewed the file and determined it was not acceptable because my husband translated.

B.) It was rejected because we didn't get it notarized (we did put the certify statement on there)( perhaps it should have been notarized also?)

C.) It was lost

I decided to assume "A" and just get it professionally translated and certified. It was just too risky to assume "B" or "C" and end up getting denied. The documents will arrive tomorrow.

My question is about how long after RFE do they usually respond back? All the information I've read was mainly for RFE's before the interview or EAD approval. I feel like our file has been laying around and someone just now decided to go through it and see if everything is there and in order. My next assumption would be everything is fine with the exception of this one thing and an approval is forth coming....fingers crossed.

Hubby and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary at the end of August and it would be great to have this process behind us by then and celebrate our marriage and this part of the journey finally being over :-)

[wavj 26]

Ugh!! I did my own translation as well because when I asked this question here while preparing my package, I got several responses from other members that did it themselves with no problem at all. I literally made what you could call a "photo copy" of my bc but in English. I typed every paragraph in the same position as it shows in the original, any control numbers on the top and bottom corners I typed them just the same. If I end up having this same type of RFE during interview --knocking on wood-- I would have it done in a website that offers the service of official documents translation. I hope I won't have to do that down the road just because I followed VJ members advice and experiences.

Good luck and keep us posted

[RiverDeep 7]

Ugh!! I did my own translation as well because when I asked this question here while preparing my package, I got several responses from other members that did it themselves with no problem at all. I literally made what you could call a "photo copy" of my bc but in English. I typed every paragraph in the same position as it shows in the original, any control numbers on the top and bottom corners I typed them just the same. If I end up having this same type of RFE during interview --knocking on wood-- I would have it done in a website that offers the service of official documents translation. I hope I won't have to do that down the road just because I followed VJ members advice and experiences.

Good luck and keep us posted

It might be a good idea to go ahead and get it professionally translated and give it to the IO during the interview. I used www.daytranslations.com. It cost $70 to translate and $35 for them to certify. Yes, it was $105 total....eeeeeks! They're service is excellent and they overnight the finished product to you with an official seal. They give quotes and your quote could be less. They also have a 100% accuracy guarantee and will make changes in the future if there are ever any issues. There are other complanies also that may be a little cheaper.

It's up to you to take the chance of your translation being accepted or get it translated to be on the safe side.

Good Luck to you with whatever you decide :-)

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I had something translated and it was like $25 a page, including notary. I would look for something cheaper, if you want to go that route.

I don't think this means that self-translations are not accepted across the board, I wonder if the quality or layout of your husband's translation was not up to the standard they require.

The good news is that they are working on your case.

[RiverDeep 7]

I had something translated and it was like $25 a page, including notary. I would look for something cheaper, if you want to go that route.

I don't think this means that self-translations are not accepted across the board, I wonder if the quality or layout of your husband's translation was not up to the standard they require.

The good news is that they are working on your case.

"I wonder if the quality or layout of your husband's translation was not up to the standard they require."

It's possible. Unfortunately they don't tell you in the letter why they are requesting a document you already gave them. The translation the company did certainly looked better. It also could have been that we needed to get it notarized. I decided to go the route we did just to resolve all possible questions. We waited a long time just to get a RFE that should have been sent months ago.

I just hope this doesn't delay a response by one to two more months. I mailed it to the local office address as stated. I hope it make it to the right person. I put the letter in the envelope as instructed but didn't put officer name or A# on the envelope which it didn't state you should. Under officer name it only had 3 letters which is why I didn't think to address to anyone in particular.

Oh well, back to waiting and waiting and waiting.....

[RiverDeep 7]

Sorry to hear that you got wrong information regarding translating foreign documents. Documents other than English have to be certified/notarized for USCIS and it's even written somewhere in their website. I had to have my French birth certificate certified by someone else even though I was perfectly capable of translating my own birth certificate.

I had an RFE for an entirely different thing and USCIS approved my AOS two weeks after I sent my RFE response. I've known of people who got their cases approved from anywhere between 10 days to over a year after an RFE response. It's really difficult to predict USCIS' schedule after an RFE. Stay optimistic!

Thanks for the reply. I'm learning how to trust my own gut instinct even if it cost me money. You never know who is going to review your file and what they will be picky about. I didn't get the document notarized since their letter to me expressly said "certified or notarized" which is strange seeing that it has to be certified regardless. Unless they meant notarized if you don't use a company. They are never clear. The certification is on company letterhead. I feel like I have a defense if they to try to make problems over notary.

I hope it doesn't take a year!! Yikes! The letter gave us until Oct 24 to respond I hope it at least doesn't go pass that date which would be a real bummer if we even had to wait that long

My issue now is I expressed mailed the documents yesterday via USPS. The mail should have gone to the Washington District office in FairFax VA 20598 but instead it was delivered and signed by someone at the US Coast Guard, Washington DC 20593. Now I'm like what the heck!? I don't know what to think I just know I don't feel well All I can do is hope this is where they pick up their mail or someone at that location will call me and tell me my package was wrongly delivered to them.

I called USPS and the representative couldn't tell me why it went there. All he could do was make a case and told me to wait 24 to 48 hours for an answer.