Document translation and notarization for DS-260?

[kikola32 1]

Hi guys!

2 questions on document translation and document notarization:

1/ Does the translation need to be printed on letterhead paper of the company translating the documents?

Mine are not printed on letterhead paper but at the bottom of each page translated contains a footer note stating the translation company and a certified translation seal/ stamp.

In addition, I have a certificate of translation on letterhead paper and listing all document translation which also has a stamp / seal.

Am I correct to think that should be sufficient or should I ask the translation to be printed on letterhead paper as well?

2/ Does the translation need to be notarized?
My understanding is that I need to provide a certified translation from native language to English of my documents.

I didn't find materials mentioning when the translation needs to be notarized.

Is it correct or not? or in which case it needs to be notarized? (when the translation are not done by a professional?)

Thank you for your advice guys, I really appreciate your help.

[Moustafa/Crystal 65]

This is good. No letterhead is necessary...we did not have our translations notarized.

[kikola32 1]

Thank you Moustafa/Crystal. Really appreciate it

[mallafri76 1,012]

You don't need to have it notarized. In fact, from what I've heard from others on visajourney, you don't even need to have the translations done by a professional translator. Also, according to the instructions from NVC, you only need to have documents translated if they're not in the language of the country in which you will have your interview. We decided to play it safe and have all necessary documents translated by a certified translator anyway, but I've been told it's not necessary. Better safe than sorry though, so your translations should be good, as long as there's a statement included that says the person is competent to translate and the translation is accurate.

[kikola32 1]

Thank you for the explanation and sharing your experience Mallafri76

[Frips 166]

US Embassy in my country requires official certified translations of civil documents.

Maybe you should double check it with your embassy.

[kikola32 1]

Thanks Frips

It's alright, my translations are done and certified. I just needed to know if it needed to be notarized on top of it.

[NikLR 13,227]

No it does not need to be notarized. A notary watches a signature after a check to see if the person is who they say via ID. So if the translations are done, you'd have to go get the translator to sign them in front of the notary. Completely unnecessary.

[awaywego 28]

Are you filing DCF, as indicated by the profile stamp/image thing to the left of your posts? If so, your papers will all go straight to the consulate (no NVC step). As others have mentioned, consulates vary in their requirements*. Check your consulate's website for their submission instructions. The instructions should mention translation requirements, which, in turn, should answer your questions.

*If you're filing Frankfurt, their requirements: For documents accompanying the I-130 (they call this "step 1"), anything not in English can be translated by anyone proficient in English and the document language, so long as that person certifies proficiency in both languages. For documents around the time of the DS-260 ("step 2"), anything not in English or German must be translated to English by a registered translator (who should know how to produce a consulate-acceptable document).

[kikola32 1]

Thanks NLR / awaywego.

All good