Key Takeaways
- A certified translation states what a foreign diploma says, while a credential evaluation states what the degree equals in the United States, and a USCIS case can involve both.
- USCIS regulations require a full English translation with the translator's certification for any foreign-language diploma or transcript, whether or not an evaluation is also filed.
- EB-2, EB-3 professional, and H-1B petitions can all turn on a degree, and the attorney or petitioner decides which academic records and whether an evaluation go into the filing.
- Degree titles are translated into English with the original wording in brackets, and the translator does not replace them with the name of the nearest American degree.
- Seals, stamps, signatures, serial numbers, and text on the back of a diploma are all described or translated so an officer can match every element to the source.
- Grades, grading scales, and credit hours appear in a transcript translation exactly as printed, because converting a score to a letter grade or grade point average is evaluation work.
- Every transcript page is translated, including pages that carry only a stamp or grading key, and blank or unreadable parts are marked as blank or [illegible].
- Course codes are copied as printed, course titles are translated, and institution names are handled the same way across the diploma, the transcripts, and every other academic record.
- Evaluation services generally work from the certified English translation, so the translation is usually prepared first and then sent to the evaluator with scans of the originals.
- Machine translation carries no human certification and mishandles names, dates, and academic abbreviations, so it does not meet the USCIS translation requirement for academic records.
A certified translation of a diploma and a credential evaluation are two separate documents that do two separate jobs. The translation puts everything the foreign document says into English, and the evaluation, written by an evaluation service, states what the degree is equivalent to in the United States. A petition can call for both, and they are prepared by different providers.
Diploma translation vs credential evaluation: what each one is
USCIS regulations require that any foreign-language document filed with a petition be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, together with a statement that the translator is competent to translate from that language into English. A diploma is a foreign-language document like any other, so the requirement applies to it whether or not an evaluation is also filed. The same rule applies across certified document translation for USCIS.
An evaluation is an opinion about the degree. It compares the foreign program with American education and gives a conclusion, such as the level of study completed. A translator does not write that conclusion, and an evaluation does not replace the translation. Evaluation services read the English text, so they generally ask for the certified translation along with copies of the original records.
Employment petitions that rely on academic records
Several employment-based filings turn on a degree. An I-140 petition under EB-2 asks for proof of an advanced degree or its equivalent, an EB-3 petition for a professional asks for proof of a bachelor's degree, and an H-1B petition on Form I-129 asks for proof that the worker holds the degree the specialty occupation calls for. The petitioner and the attorney decide which records to file and whether an evaluation goes with them.
The records themselves are usually the diploma, the transcripts, and sometimes a degree certificate or a graduation letter issued separately. Where the occupation is licensed, a professional license translation is prepared in the same way as a degree, with the same certification attached.
How a diploma is translated for a petition
The translation follows the layout of the original closely enough that an officer or an evaluator can match each translated line to the source. A certified diploma translation covers these elements:
- The name of the institution exactly as printed, and the name of the graduate with the spelling shown on the original.
- The degree title and the field of study, translated into English with the original wording placed in brackets beside it.
- The date the degree was conferred, written so that the day, month, and year cannot be misread.
- Seals, stamps, and signatures, each described in square brackets, such as [signature of the registrar] or [round seal of the university].
- Serial numbers, registration numbers, and any text on the back of the page.
The translator keeps the degree title faithful to the source. A degree called a licenciatura, a laurea, or a diplom is rendered by what the document says, with the original word in brackets, and the translator does not substitute the name of the nearest American degree. Choosing the American equivalent is the work of the evaluation. A diploma from Mexico or Colombia, for example, carries university and faculty names, signatures, and registration numbers that all have to be carried over, and a Spanish diploma translation keeps each of them in place. The wider range of Spanish translation services covers the supporting records that usually come with it, such as the transcript.
Transcripts: grading scales, credit hours, and no conversion
A transcript lists courses, grades, credits or hours, and often a grading scale printed at the bottom or on the back. The translation reproduces every one of those entries as printed. A score of 7.5 on a scale of 10 stays 7.5 on a scale of 10, and a grade written as a word is translated as that word. Turning the score into a letter grade or a grade point average would be an evaluation step, so the translator leaves it out.
Credit hours and course hours are handled the same way. If the transcript counts hours per week, the translation says hours per week, and if it counts credits, the translation says credits, with the original term in brackets when the two systems use the word differently. Dates follow the source as well, and a Chinese transcript translation has to respect the year-first date order of the original while writing each date in a form an American reader cannot mistake.
Transcripts often span several pages, and every page is translated, including pages that carry only a stamp, a signature block, or the grading key. A page that is blank on the original is marked as blank in the translation, and an unreadable entry is marked [illegible] rather than guessed.
Course names, institution names, and course descriptions
Course titles are translated into English, and course codes are copied exactly as printed. When the original title is short or general, the translation does not add detail that the document does not contain. The name of the institution is handled in one consistent way across the diploma, the transcripts, and every other record: if the school prints an English name on its own documents, the translation uses it and shows the original name beside it, and otherwise the name is translated and the original is kept in brackets.
Evaluation services can ask for course descriptions or syllabi when the transcript titles do not say enough about the content of a program. A course guide translation is prepared in full, with the same certification, so the evaluator reads the same English names for the same courses throughout the file.
Name spelling and file order: translation first, evaluation second
The evaluation, the diploma, the transcripts, and the petition all refer to the same person and the same degree, so the details have to agree. The spelling of the graduate's name should match the passport and the other identity documents already in the case. When the original shows a different spelling, the translation reproduces what the original shows, and the attorney decides how to explain the difference.
Machine translation does not carry a human certification and tends to mishandle names, dates, and academic abbreviations, so it does not meet the USCIS requirement for any of these records. Once the certified translation is complete, it goes to the evaluation service together with scans of the originals, and the same translation is filed with the petition.
Before ordering, collect the diploma and every transcript page, front and back, and any separate degree certificate. Texliff prepares each certified academic transcript translation with its own certification and does not write credential evaluations, so the attorney sends the finished translations on to the evaluation service.