Translations of evidence

[dkrivosheyev 0]

Our petition made it to NVC and I am trying to prepare for the next step Does anyone know if US Embassy in Moscow requires all evidence of on-going relationship to be translated into English? I am originally from Russia, so obviously we communicate with my fiancee in Russian...

Thank you

[1HappyGuy 45]

I don't believe they expect all correspondence to be in English, but you will also have evidence that is in English, such as telephone bills. The evidence is intended to show a continuing relationship, so include email messages over a period of time. If you want to attach translations, that is fine. Each embassy is staffed with people from the home country to assist U.S. employees. Often the interview is conducted in English, but it is not a requirement. If your fiancee speaks some English, encourage her to do so during the interview.

If she has any documents that are needed, they must be translated with a certified translation attachment.

I hope that helps.

[Satellite 1]

The embassy in Moscow is in Russia. Therefore, the employees have to know Russian to work there, including the CO's. The full translation and certification is only required for documents being reviewed by USCIS here in the states. That is why the birth certificate and divorce decrees need to be translated and certified when given to Moscow, because these documents will have significance when they aren't sent back to the states, but not the proof of communication. Communicating in Russian is a plus. It takes away the "how do you communicate" question. I am also from the USSR, and we did just fine on receipts, emails, and ICQ printouts in Russian only. I sure wasn't going to waste my time translating all of it. However, anything you send with the I-129F needs to be translated into English. So your best judgment. A phone bill, a picture, passport stamp, and plane ticket stub should be enough. Don't make it any more complicated then it should be.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Satellite

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Regarding correspondence, no. Many people submit copies of letters written in Russian. This is quite normal. It's only the official documentation that needs to be in English.

[slim 1,530]

Good advice, above.

Communicating in Russian should help. I sent my wife a few letters hand-written in Russian (I didn't know what the hell they were saying, I just copied that isht off the translation site) and it went a long way with impressing the C/O because I "took the time to learn Russian to communicate with my love." Whatever. It worked, and that's all that mattered. (For the record, they weren't actually mailed strictly for the interview, they were mailed way before just for normal correspondance. However, I don't see it being a problem if you send a few strictly for "evidence" purposes.)