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Interpreters for VAWA and U Visa Declarations

A VAWA self-petition or a U visa petition is decided on paper, and the survivor's own statement is at the center of it. That statement is usually built over several sessions with an attorney, in the survivor's language, about the worst things that have happened to them. Here is who arranges the interpreter, what these filings ask of one, and how a legal program or a survivor books one with us.

Who arranges the interpreter for a VAWA or U visa declaration

No agency provides an interpreter for preparing a VAWA self-petition or a U visa petition: the declaration and the forms are prepared before filing, and the attorney, the legal program or the petitioner arranges the interpreter. The forms expect it. If anyone read the instructions and questions to the petitioner in their language, that interpreter must complete the form's interpreter section with their contact information and sign it — Part 13 of Form I-360 and Part 6 of Form I-918 (I-360 instructions, I-918 instructions); someone who both interpreted and prepared the form completes both sections.

Anything filed in another language needs a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a statement of the translator's competence (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)). So a declaration written in the petitioner's language goes in with a certified translation; one drafted in English through an interpreter is read back to the petitioner before signing. For a U visa, the law enforcement certification on Supplement B is signed by a certifying official, and it must be signed within the six months before the petition is filed (8 CFR 214.14(c)(2)(i); Supplement B instructions) — a deadline that sets the pace for every session after it.

Who books us: immigration attorneys and accredited representatives whose staff do not speak the survivor's language; domestic violence and legal aid programs with clients in many languages; and survivors who want an interpreter they chose for meetings with their lawyer.

What the statement has to cover

For a VAWA self-petition the regulation lists evidence of the relationship, of having lived with the abuser, of battery or extreme cruelty, of good moral character — for which the self-petitioner's own affidavit is the primary evidence — and, for a spouse, of a good-faith marriage, which may include testimony about the courtship, the wedding and the life shared (8 CFR 204.2(c)(2)). USCIS considers any credible evidence and gives more weight to evidence that is "detailed, specific, and reliable" (Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 2).

For a U visa the personal statement must describe the crime: its nature, when it happened, who was responsible, the events around it, how it came to be investigated or prosecuted, and the substantial physical or mental abuse suffered as a result (I-918 instructions). Whether abuse was substantial depends on factors such as the severity of the harm and how long it lasted (8 CFR 214.14(b)(1)).

For the interpreter that means specifics, over years: each incident, roughly when, what was said, who saw it, what happened after. Abusers' words have to be rendered as they were said, including insults, slurs and threats — "I will call immigration and you will never see the children" is evidence, and a softened version is not. Sexual violence is rendered in the words the survivor uses, without euphemism added or removed. Where the survivor uses a word the interpreter cannot render exactly, the interpreter says so and the attorney asks.

Safety and confidentiality

• Nobody connected to the abuser. Not a relative, not a family friend, not someone from the same church or workplace. In a small language community, give the survivor the interpreter's name before the first session so they can say if there is a connection.
• Contact goes through the attorney or program. The interpreter does not call or text the survivor; the abuser may have access to the phone. Scheduling, links and changes go to the legal team.
• A private place for video sessions. If the survivor joins from home, they should be alone, and the session should end without notice if someone walks in. Agree on that signal at the start.
• What the government may not do is a separate question. Federal law bars officials from making adverse findings using information furnished solely by the abuser and restricts disclosure of information about VAWA and U visa applicants (8 U.S.C. 1367). That binds the government, not the interpreter; the interpreter's confidentiality is part of the engagement and should be stated by the attorney at the start.
• Pace. These sessions stop when the survivor needs them to. Book shorter sessions on more days rather than one five-hour day.

Consistency across the file

A VAWA or U visa file holds several accounts of the same events: the declaration, the form answers, a police report, the certifying official's description on Supplement B, sometimes a psychological evaluation and, if USCIS calls one, an interview. USCIS looks at whether pieces of evidence contradict each other or government records and may ask the petitioner to explain (Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 5). A police report taken in English, or through a relative at the scene, may already say things the survivor never said. The interpreter renders what the survivor says now; whether and how the declaration addresses an earlier record is the attorney's decision.

Reading the form to the petitioner is its own session. Form I-918, for example, has a series of yes-or-no processing questions; every one must be answered and any "yes" explained (I-918 instructions). They are phrased in legal English. The interpreter sight-translates each question in full, renders the answer, and flags any question the petitioner did not understand rather than paraphrasing it into something simpler. That reading is what the form's interpreter section is about.

Booking declaration sessions

Most sessions work by video or phone: $80 an hour per interpreter, one-hour minimum, no travel. A declaration built over three two-hour sessions is $480; a one-and-a-half-hour read-back of the final draft and the form booked as two hours is $160. In person at the attorney's or program's office is $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum, so a three-hour session is $330 plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. The same interpreter across all sessions keeps names, places and terms consistent and spares the survivor retelling the account to someone new.

Send the type of filing (VAWA self-petition or U visa), the survivor's language and country, any preference about the interpreter's gender, the safety instructions for contact, and the form edition and draft to be read back. Supporting documents in other languages — a protective order, a medical record, a letter — are certified translation: see personal declaration translation and USCIS certified translation.

By video, by phone or in person

Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.

In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.

Languages

The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate. If a language is not on that list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.

Each language has its own page on what to watch for — dialects, names, dates, who the speakers usually are: see interpreters by language.

What it costs

Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.

• Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
• In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
• Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
• Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.

How the travel charge works out

Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.

We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.

How booking an interpreter works

• You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
• We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
• You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.

What to have ready

The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:

• The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
• Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
• The setting and the subject matter.
• How many people need interpreting for.
• Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.

Request an interpreter

Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.

Sources

What this page says about the rules was checked against these official sources on October 28, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.

• 8 CFR 204.2(c)(2) — Evidence for a VAWA spousal self-petition (eCFR)
• 8 CFR 214.14 — U nonimmigrant status: eligibility, initial evidence, Supplement B (eCFR)
• 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — Translations of foreign-language documents submitted to USCIS (eCFR)
• USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 2, VAWA eligibility requirements and evidence (current as of October 27, 2026)
• USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 5, VAWA adjudication (current as of October 27, 2026)
• USCIS — Instructions for Form I-360 (edition 01/20/25)
• USCIS — Instructions for Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status (edition 01/20/25)
• USCIS — Instructions for Form I-918, Supplement B, U Nonimmigrant Status Certification (edition 01/20/25)
• 8 U.S.C. 1367 — Penalties for disclosure of information (Cornell LII)

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