A certificate of translation for USCIS is a short signed statement, attached to your English translation, in which the translator declares that they are competent in both languages and that the translation is complete and accurate. Federal regulation 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires one any time you file a foreign-language document with USCIS.1eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests The document itself is one page. Getting the wording and the attachments right is what keeps your filing from stalling.
What the Certificate Must Say
The regulation sets three conditions and nothing more. The translation must be full, meaning no summaries or excerpts. The translator must certify the translation as complete and accurate. And the translator must separately certify that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.1eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests Both declarations have to appear. A statement about accuracy that leaves out the competency piece, or vice versa, is incomplete.
To satisfy those conditions and give the adjudicator what they need to identify and, if necessary, contact the translator, your certificate should contain:
- The translator’s full legal name, as it appears on government-issued identification.
- A statement that the translator is competent in both languages and that the translation is true, complete, and accurate.
- The title of the document being translated (for example, “Birth Certificate of María García López” or “Marriage Certificate issued by the Civil Registry of Guadalajara”). If the original has no formal title, describe it specifically enough to remove any ambiguity.
- The source and target languages stated explicitly, such as “from Spanish into English.”
- The translator’s signature.
- The translator’s mailing address.
- The date of signing.
Nothing in the regulation requires a translation degree, a professional credential, or membership in any organization. “Certified” here means the translator personally vouches for the work in writing. USCIS runs no government translator certification program.2USCIS. Chapter 6 – Evidence
A Sample Statement You Can Adapt
The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review publishes a sample certificate whose core language works equally well for USCIS filings: “I, [Name of Translator], certify that I am competent to translate from the [Language] language into the English language and that the attached document is a true and accurate translation of the document entitled [Title of Document].”3Department of Justice. Appx F – Certificate of Translation Below that sentence, place the translator’s signature line, printed name, mailing address, and the date.
You are not required to use this exact phrasing. Any wording that contains the same elements satisfies the rule. But this template is the safest one to copy, because it tracks the regulation almost word for word. Keep the certificate on a single page. Don’t add résumé details, disclaimers, or hedging language — extra material can make a straightforward attestation look uncertain.
Who Should Sign It
Anyone genuinely fluent in both languages can certify the translation. There is no requirement that the translator be paid, licensed, or a member of a translation association. A relative, coworker, or community member who reads and writes both languages competently can sign.2USCIS. Chapter 6 – Evidence If the accuracy of the translation is later challenged, that person may be asked to explain how they know both languages, so pick someone who can credibly do that.
The regulation does not explicitly bar you from translating your own documents when you are fluent. In practice, avoid it. An adjudicator looking at a petition where the applicant also signed the translation certificate has an obvious reason to question impartiality, and any small error looks worse when the translator has a personal stake in the outcome. Using a third party removes the problem.
Signing the Certificate
For paper filings, sign in wet ink. For electronic filings, USCIS accepts electronic signatures but rejects signatures produced by a typewriter, word processor, stamp, or auto-pen; follow the signature instructions on the specific form you are submitting.4USCIS. Chapter 2 – Signatures A typed name alone is not a signature.
USCIS does not require the certificate to be notarized, and the Department of State has confirmed that notarization is not part of the federal immigration standard.5U.S. Department of State. Information about Translating Foreign Documents Other forums are different: federal courts generally want a sworn, notarized affidavit from the translator, and state courts or foreign consulates may impose their own requirements. If your document is going anywhere besides USCIS, check that receiving agency’s rules before assuming you can skip notarization.
Putting the Package Together
USCIS expects three items to arrive together as a single unit, in this order:
- A copy of the original foreign-language document.
- The full English translation, with every word on the original rendered in English, including stamps, seals, handwritten notes, and any text in the margins or on the reverse side.
- The signed certificate of translation.
Staple or clip the three together for paper submissions. For electronic filings, scan them as a single PDF in the same sequence, and confirm that stamps and seals on the source document are legible in the scan. A blurry original weakens the credibility of the whole package. Keep a complete copy of what you send; if a Request for Evidence arrives asking you to clarify or resubmit, you won’t be rebuilding from scratch.
Mistakes That Trigger an RFE
Most rejections and Requests for Evidence involving translations come from a small set of avoidable errors:
- Certifying accuracy but forgetting the competency statement, or the reverse. The regulation requires both.
- Leaving off the translator’s mailing address, so the agency has no way to contact them.
- Submitting a partial translation that skips stamps, seals, or notes on the back of the page. “Full English language translation” means everything.
- Mismatches between the printed name in the certification statement and the name in the signature block.
- Typing the certificate but forgetting to actually sign it.
A deficient certificate usually results in an RFE rather than an outright denial, but responding adds weeks or months to processing. This is one of the easier parts of an immigration filing to control.
What You’re Attesting To
Signing a translation certificate is a legal act. Knowingly making a false statement on a document required by immigration law is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1546, carrying penalties of up to 10 years in prison for a first or second offense.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1546 – Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits, and Other Documents A translator who certifies a fabricated or altered translation is exposing themselves to prosecution, not just risking the applicant’s petition. That is the reason the certification language reads the way it does. When the signature goes on the page, the translator is standing behind every word of the translation.