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Translating the Documents in an Afghan Asylum File

Afghan asylum files are built from documents in Dari and Pashto, dated in a calendar that does not line up with the Gregorian one, and often obtained through a relative or a consulate rather than in person. This page is about what those documents are and how they are translated. It is not advice about your case.

The tazkira, in two forms

The central Afghan identity document is the tazkira, and two formats are in circulation. The traditional paper tazkira is a handwritten booklet and remains valid. The e-tazkira is a biometric smart card introduced in 2018, of which many millions have been issued. They look nothing alike and the translation names which one you hold.

Afghans abroad who have no tazkira can apply through the ghayabana — absentee — process at a consulate, and dedicated service centres operate in some countries. The e-tazkira normally requires biometrics in person, which is why people outside Afghanistan often end up with the paper version. We translate either.

What else these files contain

Beyond identity documents, the papers that recur are:

• Court summonses, charging documents and judgments
• Letters, night letters and threats, frequently handwritten
• Employment and contract documents, particularly for people who worked with foreign forces, agencies or media
• Education and professional certificates
• Medical reports, and photographs with annotations
• Declarations from relatives and colleagues still in the country

Dates, names and two languages

Afghan documents are dated in the Solar Hijri calendar, whose year begins around 21 March, so each date is converted individually rather than by a fixed offset — an error here moves a date of birth or an incident by a year. Many Afghans have no family name at all, which US forms handle badly; the name is reproduced as the document gives it and the structure made explicit.

Documents may be in Dari, in Pashto, or carry both on one page. Send them and we will tell you which you have; both are the same service at the same price. See our Persian and Dari and Pashto pages.

Translated as written, because credibility is the issue

An asylum file is judged largely on whether the account holds together. That makes a translation unusually consequential, and it makes the temptation to improve things actively dangerous. A vague sentence rendered precisely, a torn line reconstructed from context, a threat translated more fluently than it was written — each of those creates a discrepancy between the document and the testimony that was never in the record.

So: everything legible is translated, at the register it was written in. Anything genuinely illegible is marked illegible rather than guessed at. Nothing is softened and nothing is heightened. Where a document is damaged, partial or a photograph of a photocopy, the translation says so plainly — which is worth far more to the person reading the file than a clean-looking rendering of something nobody can actually read.

One packet, both forums

An affirmative application goes to USCIS under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). A defensive one is filed with the immigration court, where 8 CFR 1003.33 and the EOIR practice manual also want the translator's name, address and telephone number attached. Our certification carries both, on letterhead and page-numbered, so the same translation serves either — see what it states. Where one certification needs to cover a bundle of exhibits, it will list them.

Files here name people who may still be at risk. Everything is translated by professional human translators and handled confidentially — never pasted into a public machine-translation tool. What we do not do is advise on the claim, tell you what evidence to gather or assess whether a document helps you. That is your attorney's work, and this is the point in a case to have one.

How it works

Upload a photo or a scan of your document, pick the language pair and check out online. You never have to mail originals: a legible copy is all we need.

A professional human translator, never machine translation, translates the document word for word and mirrors the layout of the original. Every certified translation ships with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy that meets the requirements of USCIS, courts and universities.

Your translation is delivered digitally, usually within 24 hours for documents of one to three pages, and same-day delivery is available. If anything needs adjusting, we revise it.

Certified vs. standard translation

A certified translation is a word-for-word translation accompanied by a signed statement attesting to its accuracy and completeness. It is what official bodies require: USCIS, courts, universities and government agencies. Certified translations are $24.95 per page, where a page is up to 250 words.

A standard translation is for business or personal use where certification is not needed, such as CVs, client intake forms or marketing material, and is billed at the same $24.95 per page of up to 250 words.

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