Key Takeaways
- Every foreign-language document in an Afghan or Iraqi SIV file needs a full certified English translation, including letterhead, stamps, signatures, and reference numbers on each page.
- Bilingual employment letters and contracts keep their English text, while every line in Dari, Pashto, or Arabic is translated and each stamp is described in brackets.
- Handwritten threat letters are translated literally, with unreadable words marked as illegible and margin notes, signatures, and stamps described where they appear on the page.
- Written statements and affidavits from abroad stay in the first person, and the translation reproduces headings, dates, signatures, and contact details exactly as they appear.
- Solar Hijri dates on an Afghan tazkira are shown as written with the converted Gregorian date beside them, in the same form throughout the file.
- The tazkira exists in older handwritten and newer electronic versions, and both are translated in full with field labels, stamps, and numbering.
- Names are transliterated the same way in every document of the file, and the passport spelling is noted so the applicant's identity stays traceable.
- Birth and marriage records for a spouse and children must use the same name spellings and date format as the principal applicant's documents.
- The Department of State Reciprocity Schedule shows which civil document version is acceptable, and checking it before ordering prevents paying to translate the wrong version.
- A separate certification for each document, signed by a translation company, is independent of the case, while one signed by the applicant or a relative may carry less weight.
An Afghan or Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa file needs a full certified English translation of every foreign-language document in it, from the employment verification letter to the tazkira, and each translation has to follow the original page closely. The petition on Form I-360 and the visa application on Form DS-157 are the filings where these documents usually appear. Which documents to submit is decided by the applicant's attorney or accredited representative; the sections below cover how the common ones are translated.
Employment letters and HR records from contractors
Proof of work for the US government or a contractor often arrives as a mix of papers: an employment verification letter, a contract, an ID badge, pay records, and letters of recommendation from supervisors. Many of them are bilingual, with English text next to Dari, Pashto, or Arabic. USCIS regulations require a full English translation of any document that contains a foreign language, so the English parts stay as they are and every line in the other language is translated, including the letterhead, the reference number, and the signature block.
Company stamps frequently carry text in both languages, and a badge may show a photo, a number, and an expiry date in two scripts. The translation describes each stamp and seal in brackets, gives its text, and places it where it appears on the page. If the back of a badge or letter carries anything, it is translated too. A contract that runs several pages is translated as a whole, because an extract or a "relevant pages only" version does not meet the requirement. A legal contract translation keeps the clause numbering of the original so that an officer can match each clause to the source.
Threat letters, night letters, and security reports
Threat letters are often handwritten, short, and written under pressure. A translation company translates them literally: the wording, the order of the lines, the spelling quirks, and the tone stay as the writer set them down. Nothing is polished into formal English, and nothing is added to make the threat clearer than the original. Words that cannot be read are marked "[illegible]" instead of guessed, and margin notes, signatures, and stamps are described where they sit.
Police or security reports about an incident, and any written statements that go with them, follow the same rules. A statement written by the applicant or a witness stays in the first person. When a family member or colleague wrote a statement abroad, an affidavit translation reproduces the heading, the date, the signature, and the contact details exactly as they appear.
Solar Hijri dates on Afghan documents
Afghan documents commonly use the Solar Hijri calendar, and Iraqi civil records may carry Gregorian or Hijri dates, sometimes both on one page. A year such as 1368 on a tazkira is a Solar Hijri year, not a typo, and it must not be copied into the English text as if it were Gregorian. The translation gives the original date as written and the converted Gregorian date beside it, in the same form every time. Texliff's guide to date conversion in certified translation shows how this is done across a full file.
Because the same file may mix a Solar Hijri tazkira with a Gregorian employer letter, the translator checks each date against the calendar that document actually uses before converting it. When a date is partly unreadable, the readable part is converted and the rest is marked.
The tazkira, passport, and name spellings
The tazkira is an Afghan identity document that exists in older handwritten versions and newer electronic ones, and the two look quite different. Both are translated in full through Dari translation services, with every field label, the stamps, and the numbering. An Iraqi civil status ID is handled the same way, and it often carries a four-part name chain of given name, father, grandfather, and family name.
A name can appear in different spellings on the passport, the tazkira, and the employer's records. The translator reads the name in the original script and transliterates it the same way in each document of the file, then notes the spelling used on the passport translation so the applicant's identity stays traceable. Where an employer's letter spells the name differently, the translation keeps what the letter says, and the difference is left for the attorney to explain.
Civil and medical records for a spouse and children
A spouse and children travel on derivative status, so their birth and marriage records have to line up with the principal applicant's documents. A Dari birth certificate translation gives the child's name, the parents' names, and the date of birth in the same spellings and the same date format used in the principal's file. A Pashto marriage certificate translation does the same for the spouse's name and the date of the marriage.
The Department of State's Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country schedule, at travel.state.gov, lists which civil documents exist in each country and which version is acceptable. Checking it before ordering saves the cost of translating the wrong version. If a record is unavailable, the applicant shows that it is unavailable and submits secondary evidence, and each foreign-language piece of that evidence also needs a certified translation. Foreign-language vaccination records and reports of past treatment are translated in full, with their stamps and handwritten entries, like any other document.
What the certification contains
For each document, the certification carries the translator's typed name, signature, date, and contact information. It states that the translator is competent in both languages, that the translation is complete and accurate, and which document was translated. A certification for each document, rather than one for the stack, is the safer practice. USCIS does not keep an approved list of translators or issue credentials, so "USCIS-certified translation" means a translation that carries the certification USCIS asks for.
A translation company supplies a certification that is independent of the case. A certification signed by the applicant or a close relative is evidence about their own case, and officers may give it less weight. Machine translation alone does not meet the requirement, because it carries no human certification and mishandles names, dates, and abbreviations. A missing, incomplete, or uncertified translation can lead to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny.
Before ordering, gather the original documents and any scans, group the principal's and each derivative's records together, and note every spelling of each name that appears in them. For the documents a petition may involve, see our certified document translation for USCIS page.