Blurp

Hello,

I would need to know about your experiences. I am fluent in English
and my native language and would like to know if I can safely be the
person translating the document written in my native language,
provided that I write a letter stating that I am competent to
translate. The cost of using the services of official certified
translators is expensive and I think I would do a great job.

Thank you for giving your opinion

jeffreyhy

Blurp,

The requirements for translation don't exclude you from translating your own documents, but that doesn't mean that any particular USCIS or consular official who is inspecting the translations might not question them on the basis of conflict of interest and require a 3rd-party confirmation of the accuracy of the translations.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

When I submitted the I-129F petition for my alien fiance, I paid a bundle to have his Statement of Intent translated professionally. I just finished submitting his I-485 AOS petition, and did any necessary translating myself, along with the statement as to my competence, certified, etc. I figure it was a lot cheaper, and if I get an RFE for it, I'll resort to the expensive route then, if necessary.

I didn't want to risk getting an RFE up front, when the wait is so long already and we were half a world away....but now that he's here with me, I don't mind if we have to wait on an RFE.

Best Wishes,
Rene

bequibar

Yeah, do it yourself and then have a third person certify it's an accurate translation with a short statement and a signature.

ironporer

We did this for our DCF of the I-130 package after submitting self translated (with the blurb about being competant bla bla bla) documents with our original K-1. Both were approved with no issues.

nat

Like someone else said, it can differ from consulate to consulate. I did my birth cert translation but rather than certifying it myself which I am perfectly entitled to I got my mother to sign and certify it but they would not accept it in Dublin consulate and insisted that it had to be done by a professional translation company with their stamp or by the Embassy. Embassy doesn't certify documents from their language to English (only the other way around) so had to get done at a translation company.

To be on the safe side, I would check with your local consulate first before attending for your interview.