Home | Tips for Turkish citizens in Getting “Certified” Translation of Immigration DocumentsWhat is “certified” translation and how you can get it right? Different nature of civil registration papersYou have been at the U.S. Immigration (U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services – USCIS, formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service – INS) or plan to apply for visa to stay in the Many Turkish nationals ask me about the birth certificate requested by the U.S. Immigration. Your "nufus cuzdani" contains the information that is needed for immigration purposes. Other immigration papers may include divorce decree, if you were married and got a divorce in the past, criminal record (sabika kaydi), your diploma, and possibly transcripts listing the titles of the courses and your grades. Now, you want to have your Turkish documents translated into English and certified for the U.S. Immigration (USCIS). You need to know the requirements to do it right and present your documents without any problem. I would like to offer some tips for you here so you will know in advance what needs to be done right and in a short period of time. What is certification?The USCIS website has created a web site to explain the procedures with the copies of immigration forms that you need Here’s the paragraph that relates to the English translation of your documents in Turkish language: “Documents Not in English: All documents that are in a language other than English must be submitted with a translation. The person translating the document must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.” So, "certification" of the Turkish to English translation of your birth certificate, marriage license, and other documents must confirm:
How does certification process work?The Turkish-English translator prints a statement meeting the requirements of the USCIS on a letterhead. This certification must contain information on the name, address, telephone number, and other relevant data about the Turkish translator. The translator or the translation agency carries legal responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the translation. The translator or the translation agency as an independent third-party must be competent to undertake such translation. Turkish translator or a translation agency?You may have noticed that some Turkish translators work as individual translators providing their translation services directly to you. And, there are translation agencies providing translation services in multiple languages. Some translation agencies claim that they offer translation services over 100 and even 140 and more languages. Some may have in-house translators for major languages such as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, etc. and use the translation services of “freelance” translators in “rare” languages as in the case of the Turkish language. Freelance Turkish translatorsMost freelance Turkish-English translators work at their own offices or homes and offer their services directly. You can find a Turkish translator on the Internet, in the telephone directory, or upon an advice by a friend who used his or her services in the past. How can you find a competent Turkish translator or translation agency?The best way to find online Turkish translators specializing in “translation of immigration documents” is to add a third search term or keyword of “immigration” after the search words of “Turkish translation” or “Turkish translator.” You may use plus (+) sign or comma (,). Don’t leave any space between search terms or keywords. Try to get competitive quotes from different translators for your Turkish translation for U.S. Immigration in terms of fee and delivery time. Make sure that your Turkish translator is familiar with the USCIS requirements and able to provide you with a "Certification by Translator" as required. About the Author: Can Berker is a Turkish translator who has 41 years of experience and is the author of five books and one e-book. He also authored the contents of the web site http://www.turkishlanguagetranslator.com "You have permission to use this article freely in any publication as long as the resource box and byline are included as-is and any web links are made 'live' when published on websites" |