Key Takeaways
- A shenasnameh or tazkira is submitted to USCIS with a complete English translation of every page and a translator's certification, whatever single entry the filing actually needs.
- USCIS does not keep a list of approved translators and does not certify companies, so a USCIS-certified translation means a translation that carries the certification USCIS asks for.
- Blank marriage and children pages of a shenasnameh are translated as blank pages, which lets an officer match every translated page to a source page in the original booklet.
- Stamps, seals, signatures, marginal notes, and handwritten entries belong in the translation, and anything that cannot be read is marked as illegible instead of being guessed.
- An aghd-nameh marriage contract is translated in full, including the mahr clause and any handwritten conditions the spouses added to the printed form.
- The Afghan tazkira exists in older handwritten and newer electronic versions, so the translator works from the version actually submitted and marks unreadable entries.
- An Afghan nikah khat can be issued years after the marriage, and the translation shows the issue date and the marriage date exactly as the document gives them.
- Solar Hijri dates are converted to Gregorian dates in U.S. format, with the original date kept beside the conversion so an officer can check the result.
- Name spelling should follow the passport, and differences between the passport and the civil records are flagged in a bracketed note and left for the attorney to resolve.
- The Reciprocity Schedule on travel.state.gov lists which civil documents Iran and Afghanistan issue, and checking it before ordering a translation avoids translating the wrong version.
A shenasnameh or a tazkira goes to USCIS with a full English translation of every page and a certification from the translation company. Both documents record several events in one booklet or card, so the translation covers every entry, including the ones a filing does not need.
USCIS requires any foreign-language document to come with a complete English translation, and the translator must certify that it is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent in both languages. USCIS does not keep a list of approved translators or translation companies, so "USCIS-certified translation" only means a translation that carries the certification USCIS asks for. Iranian and Afghan records test that rule in particular ways, and the sections below take them one at a time, starting with the booklet that holds the most entries.
Shenasnameh translation: every page, including blank ones
The Iranian shenasnameh is an identity booklet. The holder's birth is recorded on the first page, and later pages carry marriage entries, the names of children, divorces, and a death entry when one applies. Registry stamps and handwritten notes appear throughout, and the dates are written in the Solar Hijri calendar. Anyone who needs this booklet rendered in English can start with Farsi translation services.
USCIS expects a complete translation, and complete means everything on the page. The marriage and children pages of a booklet are often empty, and an empty page is translated too: the translator states that the page is blank. An officer holding the original booklet can then match each translated page to a source page without wondering where the missing ones went. Stamps, seals, signatures (described in brackets, such as "[signature]"), marginal notes, and the inside of the cover are treated the same way.
A filing may need only the birth entry, for example when the booklet proves a parent's identity. The translation still covers the whole booklet, because a summary or a "relevant pages only" translation does not meet the requirement. The attorney or accredited representative decides which records to submit.
Iranian birth records, national ID cards, and aghd-nameh contracts
The shenasnameh often serves as the birth record. A separate Farsi birth certificate translation is needed only when the file also contains a standalone birth certificate. The national ID card has a few printed fields and is translated in full, front and back.
The marriage contract, called an aghd-nameh, is a longer document. It names the spouses and witnesses and usually contains a mahr clause, which sets out the property or sum the husband commits to the wife. The clause goes into the translation exactly as written, along with any handwritten conditions the parties added. Because the contract mixes printed text with handwriting, the translator marks anything unreadable as "[illegible]" and does not guess.
Afghan tazkira and nikah khat: older and newer versions
The Afghan tazkira, the national identity document, exists in older handwritten versions and newer electronic ones. The two look different and place their fields in different positions, so the translator works from the version actually submitted and never fills in a field from memory of the other format. Entries in a handwritten tazkira that cannot be read are marked as such.
The Afghan marriage certificate, often called a nikah khat, can be issued years after the marriage took place. The issue date and the marriage date can therefore be far apart, and the translation shows both exactly as they appear. Some documents carry Dari and Pashto side by side. Both texts are part of the page, so a Dari translation of such a document notes which language each block of text is in whenever the two differ.
Solar Hijri dates and Gregorian conversion
Iranian and Afghan records use the Solar Hijri calendar, whose year numbers are well below the Gregorian ones. A date written as 1365/03/12 is a day in 1986, and a reader who copies it as written would be more than 600 years off.
The usual practice is to give the converted Gregorian date in U.S. format and keep the original Solar Hijri date beside it, for example "June 2, 1986 (12 Khordad 1365)". Keeping both lets the officer compare the translation with the source and check the conversion. Some Afghan documents use other calendars, so the translator identifies which calendar each date uses before converting it. Dates on the passport and on the civil records should agree after conversion, and a mismatch is a reason to look at the source again.
Name spelling across the passport and the civil records
Persian and Dari names are written in Arabic script and have no single fixed spelling in English. The same name can appear as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammad, and a family name may be spelled differently on a booklet, an ID card, and a visa. The passport usually sets the spelling that the rest of the file follows, so a Farsi passport translation is usually the first document a translator checks.
When the source documents disagree, the translation reflects what each one says and the translator flags the difference in a bracketed note. One document is not quietly changed to match another. Fixing a real discrepancy belongs to the applicant and the attorney, who may need to explain it in the filing.
How asylum, SIV, I-130 and parole files use these records
In an asylum case, the shenasnameh or tazkira proves identity and family relationships next to declarations and other evidence. A Form I-130 file for a spouse or parent usually calls for a birth record, a marriage record, and identity documents. Special Immigrant Visa files for Afghans and humanitarian parole requests also rely on identity and civil documents. Each of these filings treats foreign-language material the same way, with an English translation and a certification.
Consular processing has one difference. The National Visa Center and consulates accept some documents in the official language of the country where the applicant applies for the visa, but once a case is with USCIS, everything must be in English. The Department of State publishes a Reciprocity Schedule that lists which civil documents Iran and Afghanistan issue and which versions are acceptable, and checking it before ordering a translation avoids paying for the wrong document.
Where a primary record cannot be obtained, the applicant shows why it is unavailable and submits secondary evidence, and each foreign-language piece of that evidence also needs a certified translation. A translation company's certification is independent of the case, which is different from one signed by the applicant or a relative. Before ordering, scan every page of the booklet or card, including the blank ones, and keep the original marriage contract at hand for a marriage certificate translation. Texliff provides certified document translation for USCIS for these records.