How do you translate a Bulgarian birth certificate for USCIS?
USCIS asks for a full English translation of a Bulgarian birth certificate with the translator’s signed certification. We translate the udostoverenie za razhdane in full: the certificate or its duplicate, the trilingual form, the personal number (EGN), the municipal seal and signature. Names follow your passport or Bulgaria’s official transliteration. A Bulgarian birth certificate is usually one page: $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the certificate shows
A Bulgarian birth certificate (udostoverenie za razhdane) is issued by the civil registry office of the municipality, with a round municipal seal and the clerk’s signature. A duplicate is issued the same way (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). The municipality writes the child’s personal number, the EGN, on the certificate (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (opens in a new tab)).
Bulgaria is a party to the 1976 Vienna Convention on civil status records and also issues a two-sided trilingual form, in Bulgarian, French and English. It still contains Bulgarian, and USCIS asks for a full English translation of any document containing a foreign language (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)).
What the translation includes
Every field of the certificate, the EGN, the seal, the signature and any note on the back. Handwritten entries and faded stamps are routine. If a word can’t be read, the translation marks it [illegible] instead of guessing.
How we spell names
Bulgaria has an official transliteration law: Zh for ж, Ts for ц, Sht for щ, A for ъ, and Maria or Sofia for names ending in -ия (Institute for Bulgarian Language (opens in a new tab)). If your name in your passport or green card is spelled another way, that spelling goes into the translation. Tell us the spelling when you order, and it will be the same in every document of your order.
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: the translation and certification filed with a copy of the certificate. What USCIS accepts
- NVC and US consulates: the Department of State doesn’t ask for a translation of a certificate in Bulgarian if you are applying for your visa in Bulgaria. What NVC accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Our Bulgarian documents are translated and certified by a native Bulgarian speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Sample translations
2 samplesEach sample has the original, the translation and the signed certificate. Personal details are blurred.
Questions
My certificate is the trilingual one with English on it. Do I still need a translation?
The form still contains Bulgarian, and USCIS’s rule asks for a full English translation of any document containing a foreign language. We translate it like any other certificate, at the same price.
How much does it cost?
A Bulgarian birth certificate is usually one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so three certificates are $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for USCIS: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and it’s included. If your certificate already has an apostille, we translate it too.
How long does it take?
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
How we do it
- Full translation
every stamp, signature and handwritten line
- Signed certificate
with the translator’s name, address and phone
- A PDF, ready to file
original, translation and certificate, translation pages numbered
- Price
$25 for the first page up to 250 words, $20 for each additional page, in the same document or another one.
- Turnaround
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
This is a summary of what the agency publishes, not legal advice.