What is considered a 'certified' translation?

[MATD 26]

I'm looking at the Packet 3 requirements for the K-1 visa (https://th.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/k-packet-3-instruction-mar2018-english.pdf). It states the following about documents that are not in English:

 

"All documents not in English must be accompanied by certified English translations"

 

In my case I know I only need to translate the birth certificate and Single certificate.

 

My question is, what is considered 'certified'?

Is it as simple as using essentially ANY translation company in Bangkok and just making sure they include a statement similar to the following that I found on the USCIS website (https://www.visajourney.com/content/translations)? Or is there anything more specific that the embassy will look for?

 

I know I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be. I've seen various information posted on this forum but nothing definitive. As most of us on here know the visa process is far from black and white, so I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right the first time and not holding up the processing of my visa.

Edited December 25, 2018 by MATD

[JoelThai 313]

22 hours ago, MATD said:

My question is, what is considered 'certified'?

Although I can not explicitly state what is accepted or not accepted as 'certified", or what constitutes a service as being 'authorized' to issue certified translations, in my fiancées case the Embassy accepted translations performed by Express Translation Service in Bangkok.   The translations are rubber stamped with a seal stating "Certified Correct Translation' along with the signature of the translator, name of translation service company, and their telephone number.   I would expect anything similar from a legitimate translation service would present no issues.  

 

The following official Thailand Embassy page (see link below) (dated July 2016) links to a document dated from 2002 and lists a few other translation services located near the Embassy in Bangkok.  For further direction, they suggest referring the the "Yellow Pages of the Bangkok telephone directory".  So, it seems they are reasonably flexible as to who actually performs the translation service.   If the service can provide a statement that the translation is certified correct, I would not expect you to encounter any issues.

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/translation-service-providers-bangkok/

Edited December 26, 2018 by JoelThai

[MATD 26]

21 hours ago, JoelThai said:

Although I can not explicitly state what is accepted or not accepted as 'certified", or what constitutes a service as being 'authorized' to issue certified translations, in my fiancées case the Embassy accepted translations performed by Express Translation Service in Bangkok.   The translations are rubber stamped with a seal stating "Certified Correct Translation' along with the signature of the translator, name of translation service company, and their telephone number.   I would expect anything similar from a legitimate translation service would present no issues.  

 

The following official Thailand Embassy page (see link below) (dated July 2016) links to a document dated from 2002 and lists a few other translation services located near the Embassy in Bangkok.  For further direction, they suggest referring the the "Yellow Pages of the Bangkok telephone directory".  So, it seems they are reasonably flexible as to who actually performs the translation service.   If the service can provide a statement that the translation is certified correct, I would not expect you to encounter any issues.

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/translation-service-providers-bangkok/

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

The list of providers from the embassy is interesting as well. Given the company you used wasn’t on the list and you didn’t have any issues, it appears they’re not overly strict on who qualifies as certified for translating.