Will USCIS reject a translation that is notarized?

Notarization is not itself a defect, and a notarized certified translation is still a certified translation. The point is that the notary stamp adds cost without adding anything the regulation asks for, so most people are better off spending that money on getting the translation itself right. The officer reviewing your file has the final word on any document in it.

Does an apostille ever apply to a USCIS translation?

Not for a filing with USCIS. An apostille authenticates a signature so a document issued in one country is recognized in another, which is the opposite direction from a domestic federal filing. If a foreign registry or court asks you for an apostilled translation, that is a separate process handled through the Secretary of State in the state where the notary is commissioned.

My country only recognizes sworn translators. Does that status help with USCIS?

It does not hurt, but it carries no special weight. USCIS applies a competence standard rather than recognizing foreign court appointments, so a sworn translator in Spain, Italy or Turkey still has to sign the same certification of accuracy and competence that any other translator signs.

Do I need the translation notarized for a green card interview?

No. Bring the original foreign language documents and the certified English translations with their certificates of accuracy. If the interviewing officer asks for anything further, their instruction governs, and you can order a corrected or additional translation at that point.

Guides and answers

Do You Need a Notarized Translation for USCIS?

USCIS does not require notarized translations. Learn what the rule actually asks for, and when a notarized or apostilled translation is still needed.

5 minute read

No. USCIS does not require a notarized translation, and it never has. The controlling regulation, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), asks for a full English translation plus a signed certification from the translator that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent in the language pair. A notary stamp is not part of that test, and paying extra for one does not make a filing stronger.

What a notary actually certifies

A notary public verifies identity. When a notary notarizes a translation, they are confirming that a person who showed identification signed a document in front of them on a given date. That is the whole act.

The notary does not read the source language. The notary does not compare the translation to the original. The notary does not assess whether a Turkish nüfus record or a Dutch BRP extract has been rendered correctly. Notarizing a poor translation produces a poor translation with a stamp on it, and a USCIS officer who spots a mistranslated date will not be reassured by the stamp.

Why so many people think USCIS wants notarization

The belief has real roots, and three of them are worth naming.

Most of Europe genuinely does work that way. Spain has the traductor jurado appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. France has the traducteur assermenté attached to a court of appeal. Germany has the beeidigter or vereidigter Übersetzer sworn before a regional court. Italy requires asseverazione, a sworn declaration made in front of a court clerk. The Netherlands has the beëdigd vertaler in the Rbtv register. Turkey requires a yeminli tercüman whose signature is then confirmed by a notary, the noter tasdiki. If your home country works like that, assuming the United States does the same is completely reasonable. It just is not how federal immigration filings work.

Second, some attorneys and consultants ask for notarization as extra insurance, on the theory that more formality cannot hurt. It cannot hurt, but it costs money and time it does not need to cost.

Third, plenty of United States recipients that are not USCIS do ask for it, and people carry that expectation across.

When a notarized translation is genuinely useful

There are real cases, and none of them involve USCIS.

Some state courts and family law filings ask for a notarized translator declaration
Certain state motor vehicle agencies want foreign driving records with a notarized translation
A handful of universities, licensing boards and professional credential evaluators specify it
A foreign civil registry that needs a United States document legalized before it will accept it

That last one leads to apostilles. An apostille under the Hague Convention authenticates the signature of a public official, very often a notary. When a foreign authority wants an apostilled translation, the sequence usually runs translator signs, notary acknowledges the signature, then the Secretary of State issues the apostille. That chain exists to send documents out of the United States. It has nothing to do with filing a document with a United States federal agency.

Certified, notarized, sworn and apostilled

Four words that get used as if they were interchangeable and are not.

A certified translation is a translation accompanied by a signed statement of accuracy and competence from the translator. This is what USCIS requires.

A notarized translation is a certified translation whose signature has been witnessed by a notary. The notary vouches for the signer's identity, not the translation.

A sworn translation is a translation produced by a translator appointed by a court or a government ministry in another country. The status exists in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and elsewhere. It has no United States federal equivalent.

An apostille is authentication of an official signature for use abroad. It is applied to public documents and notarial acts, not to the accuracy of a translation.

If you want the longer version of what the federal rule demands, it is laid out in USCIS certified translation requirements.

What USCIS wants instead of a stamp

The certificate of accuracy does the work a notary stamp does not. It has to state that the translator is competent to translate from the source language into English, state that the translation is complete and accurate, identify the document and the language pair, and carry the translator's printed name, signature, date and address.

It also has to sit behind a translation that is genuinely complete. Seals, revenue stamps, registrar signatures, registry book and page numbers, and marginal annotations recording a later marriage or a name change all have to appear in the English version. That completeness is what an officer checks, and it is where filings actually fail.

Consular processing, NVC and embassy interviews

If your case runs through the National Visa Center and an embassy rather than adjustment of status inside the United States, the expectation is the same. Civil documents not in English are submitted with a certified English translation carrying the translator's certification. Individual consular posts publish their own document instructions, and where a post says something specific, that instruction governs for that post. Read the page for your post before you file, and if you are unsure, ask the post rather than guessing.

What you get from us

Certified translation is 24.95 per page, a page being up to 250 words of real text, delivered in 2 to 3 business days. Premium is 39.95 per page and comes back in 1 to 2 business days when a deadline is close. Every certified order carries the signed certificate of accuracy on our own template, formatted so an officer can lay the English next to the original. The three service levels are compared on our services page, and the eight languages we work in are listed on the languages page.

We do not add notarization, because USCIS does not ask for it and we are not going to charge you for something your filing does not need. If a recipient outside USCIS tells you in writing that it needs a notarized or apostilled translation, tell us before you order and we will explain what your options look like.

Where you stand if something is rejected

The officer or clerk reviewing your document has the final word, and their own written instructions govern. If a translation of ours is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge, and if the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error we refund what was paid for it, on notice within 30 days with the written rejection. The full terms are in our refund policy. Any recipient can also confirm a certificate we issued is genuine at our verification page.

Ready when you are

Upload your PDF, pick your language pair, and see the price before you pay. Start an order and your certified translation will be waiting in your account.

Common questions

Will USCIS reject a translation that is notarized?: Notarization is not itself a defect, and a notarized certified translation is still a certified translation. The point is that the notary stamp adds cost without adding anything the regulation asks for, so most people are better off spending that money on getting the translation itself right. The officer reviewing your file has the final word on any document in it.
Does an apostille ever apply to a USCIS translation?: Not for a filing with USCIS. An apostille authenticates a signature so a document issued in one country is recognized in another, which is the opposite direction from a domestic federal filing. If a foreign registry or court asks you for an apostilled translation, that is a separate process handled through the Secretary of State in the state where the notary is commissioned.
My country only recognizes sworn translators. Does that status help with USCIS?: It does not hurt, but it carries no special weight. USCIS applies a competence standard rather than recognizing foreign court appointments, so a sworn translator in Spain, Italy or Turkey still has to sign the same certification of accuracy and competence that any other translator signs.
Do I need the translation notarized for a green card interview?: No. Bring the original foreign language documents and the certified English translations with their certificates of accuracy. If the interviewing officer asks for anything further, their instruction governs, and you can order a corrected or additional translation at that point.

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