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Certified Translation for a U Visa
The U visa is for victims of qualifying crimes, such as domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking, who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and have been, are being or are likely to be helpful to the authorities investigating or prosecuting the crime. The victim files Form I-918 with USCIS, with a certification signed by the police, a prosecutor, a judge or another certifying agency (Supplement B) and a signed personal statement; the family members the victim wants to include are added with Supplement A. The crime usually happened in the United States, so its police and court records are usually in English. What is in another language is often the victim's own statement, the family documents, and any criminal record from another country. Each one needs a complete English translation, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate it (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
USCIS decides
Form I-918 with Supplement B, signed by the certifying official in the 6 months before filing; a Supplement A for each family member to be included.
A signed statement
The victim's own statement describing the crime is required. One written in another language is translated in full.
Family and court documents
The birth and marriage certificates that prove each family member's relationship, and foreign court records for a waiver.
At a glance
| U visa | |
|---|---|
| Who files | The victim, on Form I-918, from inside or outside the United States, with Supplement B, the certification signed by an official of the agency investigating or prosecuting the crime (police, prosecutors, judges, and agencies such as child protective services or the Department of Labor), and a Supplement A for each family member the victim wants to include. Form I-192 asks for a waiver if the victim is inadmissible. |
| Who decides | USCIS alone: it reviews all the evidence anew and decides how much weight each document has, Supplement B included. It can grant U status to no more than 10,000 principal petitioners a year. While a petition waits, a petitioner in the United States whose petition is bona fide can receive a work permit and deferred action; other eligible petitioners are placed on a waiting list, with deferred action or parole. The oldest petitions are approved first. |
| What has to be shown | Substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of a qualifying crime; credible and reliable information about the crime; having been, being or being likely to be helpful to a certifying agency in the investigation or prosecution; and that the crime occurred in the United States or violated a US federal law that reaches abroad (8 CFR 214.14). For a victim who was under 16 when the crime first occurred, or who is incapacitated or incompetent, a parent, guardian or next friend can hold the information and give the help. |
| Usually in another language | The personal statement, when the victim writes it in another language; the birth and marriage certificates, divorce decrees and adoption decrees that prove each family member's relationship; statements from relatives or witnesses who write in another language; and, for a waiver, the records and court dispositions of any conviction in another country. |
| Translation rule | Every document with text in another language needs a complete English translation, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate it (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)). |
| Page count | Usually moderate: a statement of several pages, one or two pages for each certificate, a few for each foreign court record. |
Documents that usually need translating
Which documents go into the petition is your decision, or your attorney's or accredited representative's; we translate what is chosen, completely, with every stamp, seal and handwritten note. In U visa petitions, the documents in another language are usually these:
- The personal statement: the signed statement describing the facts of the victimization is required. One written in the victim's language needs a full English translation (personal declaration translation). For a victim under 16 or incapacitated, a parent, guardian or next friend can give it.
- Age: the victim's birth certificate, to show the age of a victim under 16 for whom a parent, guardian or next friend gives the information and the help, or to prove the relationship to a parent or sibling being added. A passport or national ID filed with the petition is translated like any other document.
- Family members (Supplement A): credible documentation of each relationship, such as birth certificates and the marriage certificate, the divorce decree or death certificate that ended an earlier marriage, and adoption decrees. A victim 21 or older can add a spouse and unmarried children under 21; a younger victim can also add parents and unmarried siblings under 18.
- The crime and the abuse: Supplement B, police reports and US court records are usually in English; records from Puerto Rico are usually in Spanish, and a passage in another language inside an English record, such as a quoted message or an attached statement, is translated too. A medical record from another country, or a statement from a relative or a witness who writes in another language, needs a translation like any other document.
- A waiver (Form I-192): for a conviction anywhere in the world, a statement signed under penalty of perjury and the official record of each conviction and all court dispositions. A court record from another country is usually in its language.
Who reads the translations
USCIS reads the petition and everything filed with it, and any answer to a Request for Evidence; the rule for every translation is 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). A petitioner abroad whose petition is approved then has an interview at a US embassy or consulate.
Federal law bars DHS, the Justice Department and the State Department from disclosing information about a U petitioner, with limited exceptions (8 U.S.C. 1367). A petitioner who does not feel safe receiving mail at home can give a safe mailing address on the petition, such as a PO box or the address of a friend, an attorney or an organization that is helping them. That law binds the government; at eVerbary, only the staff on the order and the translator assigned to it can open the documents, which are stored in the United States (security).
How many pages to expect
One sheet of the original is one page, whatever its word count; a sheet printed on both sides is two pages, a two-sided ID card is one, and blank pages do not count. A certificate is usually one or two pages; a statement or a foreign court record can run to several, and each one filed is translated in full.
Most orders are delivered within a few hours, and one to three pages within 24 hours at most; expedited delivery takes about half the time.
Official sources
Every requirement on this page was checked against these sources on November 5, 2026.
- 8 CFR 214.14, alien victims of certain qualifying criminal activity (ecfr.gov)
- Policy Manual, Volume 3, Part C, victims of crimes (uscis.gov)
- Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status (uscis.gov)
- I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status (uscis.gov)
- Form I-918 instructions, edition 01/20/25 (uscis.gov)
- I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant (uscis.gov)
- 8 U.S.C. 1367, penalties for disclosure of information (govinfo.gov)
- Mandatory Electronic Filing (e-Filing), interim final rule, 91 FR 51924 (August 11, 2026) (govinfo.gov)
- 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), translations (ecfr.gov)
Frequently asked questions
Does Supplement B need a translation?
No. It is a USCIS form in English, completed and signed by the certifying official. What needs translating is each document in another language filed with the petition.
My statement is written in my language. Does it need a translation?
Yes, a full English translation with the certification, like any other document. If it will be written in English with an interpreter instead, see interpreters for VAWA and U visa declarations.
Can a machine translation be filed?
DHS has looked at accepting translations made by automated translation tools and concluded, in August 2026, that they do not currently translate accurately and reliably enough to meet its requirements (91 FR 51941). Every eVerbary translation is done by a professional human translator and checked against the original by a second person on our team before delivery.
Do the translations need to be notarized?
Not for USCIS: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for the translator's certification, not a notary. If another office asks for notarization, it is $34.90 per order.
Have the documents in front of you?
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