How do you translate a Honduran marriage certificate for USCIS?
USCIS asks for a full English translation of a Honduran marriage certificate with the translator’s signed certification. For an immigrant visa, the embassy in Tegucigalpa asks for one version of the RNP document: the certified copy of the folio from the marriage book (copia de folio del libro de matrimonios). We translate the Honduras marriage certificate in full, including the registrar’s seal and signature and any divorce note in the margin. A one-page copy is $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
Which RNP document to order
The Registro Nacional de las Personas (RNP) issues a marriage certificate in two versions. For an immigrant visa, the embassy asks for the folio: Copia de Folio del Libro de Matrimonios, a certified copy of the page of the marriage book with the original seal and signature of the registrar of the RNP office that issued it (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). Expedientes de vida, hoja de vida, literales, certificaciones and their annotations are not accepted for an immigrant visa.
In Honduras, you request it in person at an RNP office. From abroad, a proxy can go for you; the office may ask for a notarized authorization, which any Honduran consulate can prepare.
What the translation includes
We translate the folio in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)). Every entry on the page goes into English in its own place, with the registrar’s signature, the seal and each stamp.
Folios from before 1984 may be handwritten, with the RNP stamp or logo; from 2000 on, they are typed (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). Old handwriting is routine for us. If a word can’t be read, the translation marks it [illegible] rather than guessing.
Civil marriage and divorce
In Honduras only a civil marriage is legally recognized; a church certificate has no civil value. A marriage is not legally valid until it is registered with the RNP.
A divorce goes on the same folio: it is registered only by a family court order and noted in the margin. For a divorce, the Department of State lists the same copia de folio with that note. A foreign divorce of a Honduran marriage is valid in Honduras only if the decree is notarized by a Honduran consulate and registered through the RNP’s Secretaría General, or if the Supreme Court recognizes it (auto de pareatis) (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). We translate the divorce note with the rest of the folio.
Names
Honduran records give two surnames. We keep them in the order of the folio and spell names as in your passport, the same in every document of your order.
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: for Form I-130, a copy of your marriage certificate and proof that any earlier marriage legally ended, each 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 Honduras 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
The RNP gave me a certificación, not a folio. Will you translate it?
Yes, we translate any version. For an immigrant visa, though, the Department of State says the embassy asks for the copia de folio and doesn’t accept certificaciones or literales.
How much does it cost?
A one-page copy is $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so a marriage folio 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 folio 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.