How do you translate a Costa Rican birth certificate for USCIS?
USCIS asks for a full English translation of a Costa Rica birth certificate with the translator’s signed certification. We translate the certificación de nacimiento of the Registro Civil in full: a paper copy with its stamps, a digital one bought online with its verification code, or the literal certificate with every note on the record. A Costa Rican birth certificate is usually one page: $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
Paper or digital
We translate the certificate in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)). In Costa Rica it is issued by the Registro Civil, in person or as a digital document bought online (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)) through the site of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE (opens in a new tab)). The two look different, and the translation follows your copy:
- paper: a copy from the Registro Civil must carry its stamps;
- digital: no stamps, but a verification code that confirms the document is genuine;
- signature: several levels of officials can sign, and the lowest one allowed for birth certificates is a certificador/a (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
The literal certificate
For petitions based on a parent or sibling relationship, and for any derivative child, the Department of State asks for a literal birth certificate (certificado de nacimiento literal). It shows the registration of the date of birth, changes of name and the acknowledgment of the child by a parent. It is issued by the Civil Registry in San José, and you have to say that you need the literal version when you request it (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
A certificate that is a full copy of the registry entry is typed on fiscal paper, headed by the name and title of the issuing official, and bears a revenue stamp (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). The heading, the stamp and every note go into the translation, in the order they appear.
Older records and adoptions
Births before January 1, 1888 may be shown with a baptismal certificate (fe de bautismo) from the Roman Catholic Church. A certified copy of the microfilmed entry is also valid if the Civil Registrar’s stamp is on the back. After an adoption, the record names the adoptive parents, and the certificate looks the same as any other (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). We translate a fe de bautismo and the back of a microfilm copy the same way as the front.
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 Costa Rica 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 bought a digital certificate online. Can you translate it?
Yes. A digital certificate has no stamps: its verification code confirms that it is genuine. The translation keeps the code exactly as printed.
Do I need the literal certificate?
The Department of State asks for it when the petition is based on a parent or sibling relationship, and for derivative children. We translate the short and the literal certificate alike; which one to file is for you or your attorney to decide.
How much does it cost?
A Costa Rican birth certificate is usually one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so three one-page certificates are $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Neither is needed for USCIS: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and we include it. If an apostille is attached to your certificate, it is translated 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.