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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires an English translation of all non-English birth certificates. This requirement makes it obligatory to provide a translated Mexican birth certificate when you apply for US immigration. Why is this necessary?
The translation creates a seamless application for all parties involved. Immigration officers must understand your vital immigration information – your identity, nationality, and age. You may also need it for other applications and requests, such as visas, green cards, and citizenship.
You also need to supply a certified, translated birth certificate to ensure that all the details included are accurate—exactly the same as those on the original document. Without a carbon-copy translation, something may go wrong, causing delays, unplanned costs, and potentially, a rejected application with a Request For Evidence (RFE).
Sure Translation supplies certified translations across numerous documents, including birth certificates from any nation, in over 60 languages. What does it mean to have a translation certified? It means submitting your original birth certificate to guarantee certificate of translation accuracy.
This document is authorized by its author to be authentic and faithful to the original. The certificate must include a statement identifying the document and language, affirming the accuracy of the translation and completeness, the date, and the translator’s name, qualifications, and signature.
A translator doesn’t have to be certified to verify their work in the USA. Anyone can certify their own or another’s translation, provided they have reviewed the work. The translation certificate must also include the information that the certifier is not the translator.
Also, the best approach is to use a certified translator to ensure a complete, accurate, accredited translation.
Certified translators are qualified professionals accredited by recognized authorities such as the American Translators Association (ATA), the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), or the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI).
These bodies assess the translator against their standards and regulations. These include relevant language proficiency and fluency, the completion of formal training or education in translation, passing an approved translation skills test, and the ability to demonstrate translation experience. In addition to offering quality services, certified professionals will be knowledgeable about language and terminology subtleties to enhance relevance and understanding. They will also have insight into USCIS requirements.
Sourcing and using a certified translator, such as Sure Translation, helps ensure a trouble-free certified translation process. Here’s how to do it.
The process involves three to four steps, depending on requirements and preference.
The first step is to find a qualified translator or agency that specializes in certified Spanish translations.
Sourcing the right vendor means doing some homework, including finding and researching translation agencies. For each, check their credentials to ensure they’re accredited by a trusted authority such as the ATA. Review their work by requesting samples and reading customer testimonials and reviews. Check that they have security privacy protocols and policies in place to protect your sensitive birth certificate information.
Once you’re satisfied that your translator is reliable, request your translation. Sure Translation provides quotes, customer service, and deliverables online, further streamlining the process for your convenience.
For the USCIS-certified translation document to be complete, it must detail all the information reflected in the original. For example, your Mexican birth certificate includes your full name, date and place of birth, and your sex at birth. It also states your parents’ names and nationalities, birth registration details, and where your birth is recorded—down to the page number. Additionally, it contains witness information and an alphanumerical CRUP (Clave Única de Registro de Población) code—your national identification number. Finally, the certificate will also include an official seal and a civil registrar’s signature.
Birth certificate translations must be presented verbatim to match the original. Additionally, the format must be identical. Paragraphs, sections, and margins should be in the same order with the exact paragraph and line spacing. While official seals and signatures can’t be replicated, you should note their positions. In some cases, the translation may need to be prepared on an official letterhead, such as for the USCIS. Your certified vendor will know what’s required.
Sure, Translation has the knowledge and experience to translate your birth certificate precisely. For example, we understand the importance of name spelling (including special characters) and order, the exact transcription (not translation) of the CURP, place names and other geographic information, specific date format requirements, original Spanish terms – to avoid abbreviations – and how to translate official terms and titles correctly.
Review your translation. If there’s anything you’re unhappy with, speak to your translator. Once everything is confirmed, you’re ready to have the translation certified.
Your language solutions provider will review and perfect their work, then certify its authenticity and accuracy with a formal certificate of accuracy. With this certification letter, you can feel confident that your birth certificate translation is complete and exact. Attach it to your original document (or a certified copy, if allowed), and submit both with your application. As an optional extra verification step, you can have the certification notarized.
Why notarize your translation certification? Providing the USCIS with proof that your certification is genuine adds credibility to your application and may speed approval. It validates the identity of the certifier, adding an extra layer of legal verification. Notarization helps prevent fraud, protecting you and the certifier.
The certifier must take their letter of certification and valid identification to a notary public – government-authorized individual – and sign the certificate in their presence. The official will then notarize (stamp and sign) the document.
While this step comfortably cements the authenticity of your Mexican or other non-English birth certificate translation, the USCIS doesn’t insist on notarization, except when documents are sent from abroad. You can find notaries public at your local bank, library, law offices, and dedicated notary agencies.
Any translation effort has potential pitfalls, with each error possibly leading to misunderstandings, unexpected expenses and delays, or worse. Challenges to creating a precise transformation, accurate and faithful to the original, include:
Additionally, a lack of careful, expert proofreading can lead to avoidable mistakes in the content and format. Instead, a professional, trusted, certified translator or translation agency, such as Sure Translation, will ensure attention to detail and sensitive language knowledge that guarantees proficiency and accuracy.
Sure Translation is an ATA-accredited, 100% USCIS-acceptance guaranteed web-based agency providing certified translations at competitive prices. While comparable vendors charge US$25 per page, we charge US$18 – the most affordable fee on the Internet.
Our service is also fast and efficient. We provide instant quotes, a one-day turnaround, and unlimited revisions. So, if you need to translate your Mexican birth certificate into English, avoid complications and delays. Instead, choose professional, hassle-free birth certificate translation from Sure Translation.
USCIS certified translation with 100% acceptance guarantee. Only $18 per page.
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