Guidelines For Reliable Birth Certificate Translation

By Ryan Ross


Sometimes a person is called upon to produce legal documents that prove their identity or citizenship. These situations may include seeking immigration status, getting a green card, marriage, foreign adoption, passport application, a new job, or embarking on a major business venture. For a lot of these purposes, one might need to seek out a birth certificate translation if it is in any language other than English.

Even though there are quite a few reasons why one may need to do this, the main ones are for immigration and travel purposes. For security purposes, the government has individuals provide definitive proof of identification, which this document helps establish. Each of the above actions will have its own set of specifications.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sets the standards for all documentation that will be deemed acceptable in all matters involving foreign individuals. Understanding that not all countries follow the same protocols for issuing certain documents, they take this into consideration for their requirements. These specifications will be available with the instructions for each process.

Regardless of where the country of issue is, all documents that are not in English are required to be accurately translated before being submitted. This can be done by any individual - other than the beneficiary or the petitioner - who is fluent in both languages. All translations must be accompanied by a copy of the original.

Certain factors need careful attention, so that complications and delays can be avoided. As an example, documents are to be translated word-for-word, exactly as shown, include all punctuation, dashes, signatures and stamps. Any part that is smeared, damaged, or otherwise unclear, should be marked as "non-legible" by the translator, instead of being skipped or assumed.

The visual layout of the original document is to be followed in the translated version as well. For instance, spaces should be left by the translator to indicate that the primary paperwork was completed in a blocking format. On each of the papers, the translations for all signatures, stamps, and seals should be in the corresponding areas.

The person translating any document is required to attest to their qualifications to accurately perform this task. They can do this either at the bottom of their work, or by attaching a separate affidavit. The attestation should state their name and address, that they are fluent in English as well as the other language.

It is usually not necessary to notarize documents that are being submitted to agencies, like the USCIS, that are in the United States. However, when delivering to consulates and embassies in other countries, notarization is a requirement.

A petitioner is not required by law to use professional translating services, though it is strongly recommended since any discrepancy may be cause for a delay or dismissal of the case. Whichever option one chooses, it is a good idea to carefully compare and review the accuracy of both the original and translated documents. This is especially important in immigration circumstances as submitting incorrect data may be considered false information that could get the entire petition immediately denied.




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