Really need your help with certification of translator's competency

[Apalis 3]

Hi guys,

I really need your help here . My wife and I had our Marriage Certificate translated by a reputable translation agency in her country in 2011 and the translated version was also notarized by the government officials.

Today, I reread the I-130 instruction again and found out that we also need the "translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate the foreign language into English." In our notarized translated version, they only attested that the translated content was correct and as truthful as possible but they did not include any phrase stating that they were fluent in both languages. I just contacted the translation service in my wife's country about this and they replied that they need me to fly back and show them the original translated version and they will sign the forms for us.

Since it's too much hassle to do so, I have decided to write a letter to USCIS to certify the translator since I am fluent in both my wife's language and English and I have double checked everything to ensure that they are all correct. The content of the letter I type to USCIS is as below. Would you guys please check and let me know if this is acceptable ?

Petitioner’s name: ………………

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Attn: I-130

131 South Dearborn - 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60603-5517, USA

Subject: Certification for Translator

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, ________________, am writing this letter to certify translator, ___________________, who has translated our document attached entitled ______________________ to be fluent (conversant) in both the English and xxxxxx languages and qualified to translate the above documents.

I, being fluent in both English and xxxxxx, have double checked the translation to ensure that the translation is correct and ensured the bilingual fluency of the translator. I would like to seek your understanding and accept this certification due to the fact that we were not aware of this language certification requirement and as a result, we did not have this certification of linguistic competency in our originally notarized translated version of our document completed in 2011.

Thank you very much for your kind understanding.

Sincerely,

Signature _________________ Typed Name _____________________________________________

Date ______________________Address _________________________________________________

Right now, I have 3 options:

1) Submit this letter along with the original notarized translated version of our documents

2) Fly back or somehow ask them to sign the Certification by Translator, scan it and mail it back to me (is a printed copy acceptable or does the USCIS requires the certification to be original ?)

3)Re-translate everything by myself and sign the certification by translator by myself (but then my translated version won't be notarized and I still prefer to send the notarized version since it looks a lot more authentic and original).

Please help me fellow VJ'ers , I am really confused right now and don't know what I should do.

[Apalis 3]

Anybody ?

[Ryan H 3,819]

I suggest option 3 with twist. The twist is find someone else you know that is fluent in both language and have that person sign the attestation statement.

[Darnell 8,479]

If this is a white book, produced in China - it's adequate for the I-130 and NVC doc intake, as the seals and stamps make it an official Chinese Government Document, no attestation statement needed.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Darnell

[Apalis 3]

If this is a white book, produced in China - it's adequate for the I-130 and NVC doc intake, as the seals and stamps make it an official Chinese Government Document, no attestation statement needed.

Unfortunately this was done in Vietnam (my wife's country) but it has the seal chop from the government office (I assume it's similar in China since in her country if the paperwork doesn't have the chop from the government (no matter translated or original version), it would not be valid). It just doesn't have the part where it says the translator is fluent in both languages as required in I-130 instruction.

Not sure what to do. I want to go with Option 3 as suggested by Ryan but the problem is that I feel that this notarized version is much stronger than the version which I will do by myself .

How about in your case Darnell ? Did your translated version have the phrase where it said that the translator was fluent in Chinese and English and was it accepted ?

[Darnell 8,479]

nope, no attestation on the capabilities of the translator.

However - I strongly suggest you post in the Vietnam forum, describe exactly what you have, and ask for input. You may find you have exactly what is needed, already, and have overthought the attestation thingie from the translator.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Darnell

[Apalis 3]

nope, no attestation on the capabilities of the translator.

However - I strongly suggest you post in the Vietnam forum, describe exactly what you have, and ask for input. You may find you have exactly what is needed, already, and have overthought the attestation thingie from the translator.

Thanks Darnell, before I do so, could you please clarify if your answer "nope" means that your I-130 got an RFE because there was no attestation on the capabilities of the translator or "nope" means that you didn't have any problem with submitting your notarized and translated version of your documents ?

Many thanks.

[Darnell 8,479]

sure ! The latter. But that's not just me - that's the few thousand fellas that filed I-130s for their Chinese Spouses, also, during the last 4 years that I've been a member here.

[Apalis 3]

sure ! The latter. But that's not just me - that's the few thousand fellas that filed I-130s for their Chinese Spouses, also, during the last 4 years that I've been a member here.

Thanks Darnell , glad to hear from somebody with so much experience like you. I think I will submit the notarized version first and will let you guys know how it goes.

I submitted the same thing to the Singaporean government (we are currently staying in Singapore) and we don't have any problem with it either so let's cross our fingers that mine will be accepted without any problem also.

Thank you for your help again Darnell, really appreciate it.

[Darnell 8,479]

Seriously- describe the thing and ask the question again in the Vietnam forum.

Seriously !

[ngo3361 8]

I have done Option 3. At first, I had a translated version which was notarized by the government officials; they are my birth certificate and high school transcripts. Then it became inconvenience to mail documents to the U.S, so I translated them myself. All you have to do is to say at the bottom that you certify that the translation is true and accurate and sign your name. If you have the translated version, just copy the wording from the notary.

I have not had any problems with USCIS.

[Apalis 3]

Seriously- describe the thing and ask the question again in the Vietnam forum.

Seriously !

Yeah maybe I should double check ....

[Apalis 3]

I have done Option 3. At first, I had a translated version which was notarized by the government officials; they are my birth certificate and high school transcripts. Then it became inconvenience to mail documents to the U.S, so I translated them myself. All you have to do is to say at the bottom that you certify that the translation is true and accurate and sign your name. If you have the translated version, just copy the wording from the notary.

I have not had any problems with USCIS.

Hi ngo3361, glad to hear from somebody who is on the same boat at me. On your translated form, did you mention anything about you being fluent in both Vietnamese and English language or just attest that what you have translated is correct and truthful ?

Please let me know, thanks

Edited January 16, 2013 by Apalis

[Apalis 3]

Seriously- describe the thing and ask the question again in the Vietnam forum.

Seriously !

I forgot to tell you and others here that my wife and I are staying in Singapore so we will be using our address in Singapore and for interview, it will be done through the American Consulate in Singapore, not in Vietnam (we have double-checked this with the American Consulate in Singapore). I am not sure whether the Vietnam forum would be the applicable place for me to ask this question .

Sorry for having such a complicated situation .....

[TBoneTX 45,778]

OP, because duplicate threads are not really desirable (they dilute the information received, and can run parallel or at cross-purposes), I removed your thread in the Vietnam forum.

However, I replaced it with a new message -- with title & subtitle much like yours -- and a link to this thread. The helpful, knowledgeable Vietnam folks should be along sometime soon.

Good luck!

Edited January 16, 2013 by TBoneTX