How do you translate a Colombian marriage certificate (registro civil de matrimonio) for USCIS?
For a marriage-based petition, USCIS asks for your marriage certificate, fully translated into English with the translator’s signed certification. In Colombia that is the registro civil de matrimonio. We translate the Colombian marriage certificate in full, with the seal or sticker that certifies the copy and every note in the margin. A one-page copy is $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the registro must state
We translate the registro in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)). Colombian law lists what a marriage record states (Decreto 1260 de 1970, art. 69 (opens in a new tab)), and the translation carries each item on your copy:
- the place and date of the wedding, and the official or priest who performed it;
- each spouse’s name, civil status, domicile and ID number, with the code of their birth record and the office where it is kept;
- the names of the parents of both spouses;
- children legitimated by the marriage, with their ID and birth record;
- the date, office and place of a prenuptial agreement (capitulaciones matrimoniales), if the couple signed one.
Copia del folio or digital copy
A Colombian marriage certificate has no security features. It is a copy of the registry page (copia del folio) on plain paper, certified with an original signature over a wet seal or a sticker, or with a barcode security sticker instead (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). The embassy doesn’t accept a summarized certificate. A digital copy from the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil has a QR code and no notes section.
Scan the front and the back of a paper copy, even if the back is blank: the Department of State asks for both. We translate both sides, stamps and handwriting included, and mark a word that can’t be read [illegible].
Notes in the margin
A divorce, an annulment or a separation is entered on the marriage record and on the birth record of each spouse (Decreto 1260 de 1970, arts. 22 and 72 (opens in a new tab)). Those entries sit in the margin, and the translation keeps them. Still, the Department of State doesn’t take an annotated birth certificate in place of the marriage certificate, or an annotated marriage certificate in place of the divorce decree. After a church wedding, the civil registro is the document for immigration; a parish certificate is added only if the embassy asks (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
Names and ID numbers
A Colombian spouse usually has two surnames, and the registro gives each spouse’s ID number (cédula). We keep the surnames in the order of the registro, copy the numbers digit for digit and spell names as in your passport, the same in every document in your order.
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: for Form I-130, a copy of your marriage certificate, with a full English translation and the translator’s signed certification (Form I-130 instructions (opens in a new tab)). 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 Colombia 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.
Questions
I downloaded my registro from the Registraduría website. Will you translate it?
Yes. The translation keeps its QR code and the signature of the National Director of Civil Registry. The Department of State notes that a digital copy is valid for three months and that certified copies may be requested in some cases.
How much does it cost?
A one-page copy is $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so a marriage certificate and two birth 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 copy 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.