janeaus

'Tis the season! In my first post to this site, I'd like to share the answer to a question with which I struggled and to which I have not seen a definitive answer anywhere. To this I'll add 2 bonus FAQ answers that are less valuable, but more widely useful. All the answers have been corroborated either directly in phone conversations with NVC or indirectly by the fact of NVC’s acceptance of the civil documents filed so far with my DS-230.


FAQ #1: Ukraine, NVC, and Certified Copies

Question: NVC requires that I submit "original documents or certified copies of the documents... from an appropriate authority (the issuing entity)" to support my DS-230. It is difficult to impossible to obtain a certified copy of my Ukrainian beneficiary's birth certificate from the Ukrainian ZAGS, and mailing it is out of the question. What am I to do?

Short answer:
1) Have your beneficiary get a notarized copy of the birth certificate. Make a couple just in case!
2) Have your beneficiary visit the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice in Rylsky provulok and get apostille on the notarized copies. The Ukrainian apostille is a stamp on the back of the document.
3) Submit an apostilled copy to the NVC as part of your DS-230 package.

NVC just accepted a certified birth certificate copy executed in this manner.

Long answer:
It is widely believed that the above would not be acceptable. Well, it is -- for Ukraine. It's all in the country-specific definition of a "certified copy." While the blanket answer is that the copy must be from the issuing authority, country-specific exceptions do apply and do prevail. In case of Ukraine (and, I presume, Russia and many other ex-Soviet countries), notarizing official documents is still THE way to make certified copies. Unlike the US (well, California for sure), where a notary public is not allowed to certify the authenticity of a photocopy of an official document, in Ukraine notaries do just that, and this is recognized by the Ukrainian government and can be legalized all the way up the chain. And ever since Ukraine joined the Hague convention in 2003, the legalization chain shortened significantly -- please read on.

The US Department of State recognizes this exception to the "certification by issuing authority" rule in case of Ukraine. (Many thanks to the NVC representative who took her time to walk me through the web site to the appropriate link -- here's how: first, get to http://travel.state.gov/visa/. Then follow the Frequently Requested Visa Information menu item on the left into Fees and Reciprocity. Click on Visa Issuance Fee - Reciprocity Tables and select Ukraine. Under the visa reciprocity table, read the Documents section.) To quote from the page:

"Certified copies of documents are made at local notary offices, and signatures and seals of local notaries may be authenticated at the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice."

Truly, I'd give that rep a big hug the American way, and a box of chocolates the ex-Soviet way, because for me this meant deliverance from questionable and highly stressful alternatives of:
- having my mother mail the original birth certificate (I heard that Russia recently passed legislation banning the mailing of original ID documents, and Ukraine may well have followed suit; besides, original Ukrainian birth certificates may not be exportable in the first place!)
or
- having my mother "lose" her original birth certificate.

I must add that the info on the page is a bit outdated in that it describes a much longer legalization chain for a notarized copy than necessary. As a party to the Hague convention, Ukraine can place apostille on documents, which is just one step in addition to the notarization and it does NOT require any further legalization and, for that matter, any translation.


FAQ #2: English Translations of Civil Documents Sent to NVC

Question: Do I need to send English translations with the civil documents supporting my beneficiary’s DS-230?

Answer: No, unless the documents contain information in a language other than English or the official language of the target country (the “target language”.) In my case of DS-230 being targeted to Ukraine, 2 of the 4 civil documents were in Ukrainian and I did not submit any translations for them. The other two represented an interesting case, quite common in ex-Soviet countries: the forms printed in Russian AND Ukrainian were filled out in Russian. Since Russian is not an official language in Ukraine, these two documents had to be translated.

Question: As the beneficiary’s agent and/or petitioner residing in the US, can I make the translation myself? I was told that NVC frowns upon translations made by interested parties.

Answer: You were told incorrectly. If you know the target language, you absolutely can translate yourself. Of course, the translation, to cite the NVC, “must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the:
- Translation is accurate, and
- Translator is competent to translate.”

Question: I reside in the US and do not speak the target language. Do I have to go through a translation agency?

Answer: No. You can ask any person speaking the target language do the translation and certify it with the above-mentioned statement. Then their signature will need to be notarized. Cost to you: $10 or so.


FAQ #3: Additional Photocopies

Question: The NVC section of the Department of State web site says:
In addition to sending the original documents or certified copies of the documents to the NVC, the applicant and each accompanying family member must submit a photocopy of the original documents or certified copies of the documents.

Do I really need to send these additional photocopies?

Answer: NO. You do not need to do this any more. This, as all the other answers in this post, has been confirmed by NVC reps and personal experience.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

janeaus

One more tidbit I got from the NVC and forgot to mention: they don't care about the type of mail used for DS-230 and AOS submissions. I wondered because several years ago, USCIS (INS back then) refused mail that required a signature, such as registered mail, for certain programs. No such thing with NVC: I used registered mail.

Rete

Janeus that is very untrue. Back in 1998 and onward we have always used certified mail, return receipt requested. It has never been refused and is the only way I would suggest that people post their documents to the USCIS.

janeaus

I said "for certain programs". At least for DV lottery entries. This must have been an exception rather than the rule.

It's probably a thing of the past anyway, just as are mail-in DV lottery entries.

bybarra

If you are competant yourself in two languages and translate documents, do you need to have your own statement signed in front of a notary?

Noorah101

No. You just have to have the correct "magic language" in your statement.

Rene

bybarra

Hi Rene.

The original post said the following: "You can ask any person speaking the target language do the translation and certify it with the above-mentioned statement. Then their signature will need to be notarized. Cost to you: $10 or so."

So, is there a difference between the certification done by yourself or by someone else? The posting above seems to say that if you do it yourself, you don't need the signature signed in front of a notary, but if someone else does it, than you need their signature signed in front of a notary.

Noorah101

I translated my alien husband's documents and did not need to get it notarized. However, there is specific verbage that should be used. I don't have it handy at the moment. But if you do a little search for "magic language" on this forum, you might find it.

Rene

bybarra

Thanks Rene. I have seen the specific language posted here and have it copied into a document that I don't have on hand right now. We're going to do it this way for our translated documents that we'll present next week at my husband's interview in London.

Noorah101

In my layman's opinion, you should be fine. Let us know how it goes!

Rene

bybarra

Will do. My husband's interview is Monday, so fingers are crossed that we've got everything we'll need.