Personal Document Translation Services for Immigration, Visa, Academic, and Official Use

What Is USCIS Certified Translation — And What Does Your Document Need to Be Accepted?

"Certified translation" is one of the most searched terms in personal document translation — and one of the most commonly misunderstood.

What USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)): All foreign-language documents submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a full English translation. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), the translation must be certified by a competent translator who certifies:

1. Their competency in both the source and target languages
2. That the translation is complete and accurate
3. Their printed name and signature
4. The date of translation

What "certified" does NOT mean: USCIS does not require the translator to be certified by the American Translators Association (ATA) or any other professional organization. "Certified translation" for USCIS means a translation with this specific signed certification statement — not the certification credentials of the translator themselves.

What USCIS does NOT accept: Machine translation — Google Translate, DeepL, ChatGPT, or any other automated tool — does not meet the USCIS certification requirement. The translation must be performed by a human translator who can attest to its accuracy.

What TheWordPoint provides: Every personal document translation includes a Translation Accuracy Certificate — the signed certification statement meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requirements. TheWordPoint's certified translations are accepted by USCIS, all US embassies and consulates, US courts, state government offices, universities, and credential evaluation organizations (WES, ECE, NACES members).

→ Immigration Document Translation → USCIS Document Translation

Personal Content Translation Rates

Most personal documents are priced per page, not per word — making your cost predictable before you submit your document for translation.

Translation Accuracy Certificate included in every certified translation.

Rush delivery (same day) available for urgent immigration, visa, or court deadlines. For longer documents or content not listed, use the Free Quote option for a custom per-word price from $0.06/word.

Personal Document Translation — What Brings You Here?

Applying for a US visa or green card (immigration). USCIS requires certified translations of all foreign-language documents in your immigration application — birth certificate, marriage certificate, police clearances, military records, and financial documents. Every translated document must include a Translation Accuracy Certificate meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requirements. Rush delivery available for immigration interview deadlines.  → Marriage Certificate Translation → Divorce Certificate Translation

Applying to a university or credential evaluation. Academic transcripts, diplomas, and degree certificates must be translated for US university admission and for credential evaluation by WES, ECE, and other NACES member organizations. TheWordPoint translates grades as-is — grading scales are not converted, only translated, per WES guidelines. Academic translations are accepted by all major US universities and credential evaluation bodies. → Academic Transcript Translation

Researching your family genealogy. One of the most rewarding uses of personal document translation: tracing your family history through historic birth, marriage, and death records in German, Latin, Russian, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Yiddish, or other languages. Our genealogy translators can read handwritten historic scripts (German Kurrent, 19th-century Latin church records, Cyrillic script). → Birth Certificate Translation

Applying for a job internationally. Professionals relocating or applying for positions in Europe, Asia, or other markets need their CV translated into the local language — and adapted for local CV format conventions (European CVs differ significantly from US resumes in structure and content expectations). See the CV Translation page for full details. → CV Translation Services

Dealing with an inheritance or estate matter across borders. Wills, property deeds, bank statements, tax records, and probate documents in a foreign language need certified translation for cross-border inheritance cases. TheWordPoint translates inheritance documentation for submission to foreign courts, notary offices, and financial institutions. → Legal Translation Services

Personal Documents We Translate — Full Catalog

Official identity and civil status documents. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees and certificates, death certificates, name change documents, adoption papers, and civil registration extracts. All certified for USCIS, embassy, and official authority use.

Academic and educational credentials. Academic transcripts from all educational levels (secondary school through doctoral), university degree certificates and diplomas, certificates of completion, grade reports, letters of enrollment, student ID documents, and scholarship award letters. Accepted by all major US universities, NACES credential evaluation organizations, and professional licensing boards.

Legal and official identity documents. Driver's licenses, national identity cards, passport biographical data pages, and residency permits. Police clearance certificates and criminal background check documents. Military service records and discharge papers.

Financial personal documents. Bank statements, income statements, tax declarations, tax clearance certificates, pay stubs, employment verification letters, and social security/pension statements. Common requirements for immigration applications (I-864 Affidavit of Support, visa financial sufficiency documentation), property purchase, and business registration.

Property and inheritance documents. Property deeds and title documents, purchase and sale agreements, wills and testaments, probate court documents, inheritance declarations, and foreign court orders related to property transfer.

Personal correspondence. Personal letters, family correspondence, emails, diary entries, and private communications. Historic family letters for genealogy research. Court-required personal communications translations.

Privacy, Quality Assurance, and Delivery

Your personal data is protected under GDPR. Personal documents contain your most sensitive information — full legal name, date and place of birth, family relationships, financial position, and in some cases criminal or medical history. TheWordPoint processes all personal document data in compliance with GDPR:

• Your documents are never shared with third parties under any circumstances
• If a family member or third party requests a copy of your translated document, we will not provide it
• Documents are transmitted via encrypted channels
• Data is not retained after project completion without your explicit agreement

Translation accuracy for personal documents. In personal documents, every detail matters. A transposed date of birth, a misspelled name, or an incorrectly rendered reference number can cause a USCIS application to be rejected, a university admission to be delayed, or a court document to be questioned. TheWordPoint's personal document translators are trained to preserve all information from the original — including stamps, seals, handwritten annotations, and reference numbers — in the translated version.

Free revisions included. If any element of the translation does not accurately reflect the original document, we revise it at no charge. We guarantee USCIS acceptance for all certified immigration document translations.

How Personal Document Translation Works

Prepare a clear scan of your document. A PDF, JPEG, or PNG of the original document. All text must be legible — including stamps and handwriting. You do not need to send the physical original.

Submit for a free quote. Upload at thewordpoint.com/free-quote. Specify: document type, target language, intended use (USCIS, embassy, university, court), and delivery date needed.

Translation by a qualified native-speaker translator. Your document is translated preserving all original information — names, dates, stamps, seals, handwritten annotations, and reference numbers — exactly as they appear in the original.

Proofreading and QA. A second native-speaker reviewer checks for accuracy, completeness, and formatting consistency with the original. Names, dates, and reference numbers verified against the source document.

Certification and delivery. Accompanied by a Translation Accuracy Certificate. Delivered by email as a PDF — and as a hard copy by mail if required for your application. Accepted by USCIS, embassies, courts, and universities.

Reviewed and updated  on August 21, 2026, by

Christakis Christodoulou,
Managing Director
Head of the Certified Translation Department