Birth certificate translation for USCIS

Checklist

Copy of the certificate

A legible photocopy of the foreign birth certificate, front and back, unless the form instructions ask for the original. USCIS can request the original at any time.

Full English translation

Everything on the certificate, including stamps, seals, margin notes and apostilles. Nothing summarized.

Translator's certification

A signed statement that the translator is competent to translate into English and that the translation is complete and accurate, with the translator's signature, printed name, date and contact information.

Notarization

Not mentioned in the regulation or in the I-130 and I-485 form instructions.

Steps

1. Scan the certificate at a readable resolution. A flat, well-lit phone photo also works.
2. Upload it to LoreAI with English as the target language.
3. Check the Word file: names spelled exactly as on the certificate, dates, registration numbers, parents' names.
4. Add bracketed notes for seals, signatures and anything illegible.
5. Add the certification. The certificate of translation template has the wording.
6. File the copy of the certificate, the translation and the certification together.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out the back of the certificate or the apostille.
• Translating or shortening names, or dropping a second surname.
• Swapping day and month in dates.
• A certification that is not signed or does not name the translator.
• Summarizing a long certificate instead of translating it in full.

The rule behind the checklist

8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires that any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, together with the translator's certification of competence. The USCIS translation guide quotes it in full.

Questions people ask