How do you translate a Chilean birth certificate for USCIS?
USCIS asks for a full English translation of a Chilean birth certificate with the translator’s signed certification. We translate the certificado de nacimiento of the Registro Civil e Identificación in full: the RUN, the parents’ names, the folio and verification code, the electronic signature. A copy downloaded from the Registro Civil website and one issued at an office are translated the same way. A Chilean birth certificate is usually one page: $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the certificate shows
We translate the certificate in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)). A Chilean certificado de nacimiento is issued by the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). It certifies the registration number, the name, the RUN (the national ID number), the register, and the date and place of birth (ChileAtiende (opens in a new tab)); it also shows sex and the parents’ names (ChileAtiende (opens in a new tab)). The translation has every line:
- the header: the issuing service, the folio number and the verification code;
- the registration: the registration number and the register;
- the registered person: full name, RUN, date and place of birth, sex;
- the parents: their names;
- the signature block: the electronic signature of the head of the General Archive (Jefe Departamento Archivo General) (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
Three versions of one certificate
The Registro Civil issues the birth certificate in three versions: for any procedure (todo trámite), for family allowance (asignación familiar) and for school enrollment (matrícula) (ChileAtiende (opens in a new tab)). The translation gives the name of the version word for word.
For an immigrant visa, the consular section in Chile accepts only birth certificates that include the parents’ names, and it doesn’t accept handwritten certificates (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
Online copies and the verification code
You can request the certificate free of charge online, with your RUN and ID card number, or at any Registro Civil office (ChileAtiende (opens in a new tab)). Chileans in the United States can also get it at a Chilean consulate. A certificate can be checked for up to 60 days after it is issued by entering its folio and verification code (ChileAtiende (opens in a new tab)). We copy both numbers into the translation exactly as printed.
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 Spanish if you are applying for your visa in Chile or another country where Spanish is an official language. What NVC accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Our Spanish documents are translated and certified by a native Spanish speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Sample translation
The sample has the original, the translation and the signed certificate. Personal details are blurred.
Questions
I downloaded my certificate from the Registro Civil website. Can you translate it?
Yes. A downloaded certificate carries the folio, the verification code and the electronic signature of the Registro Civil, and the translation keeps all three, so the reader can check the original.
How much does it cost?
A Chilean birth certificate is usually one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so certificates for three family members are $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
USCIS doesn’t ask for either: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and it’s included. If your certificate already has an apostille, we translate it as well.
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.