How do you translate a birth certificate from Spain for USCIS?

Literal, extract or plurilingual

A Spanish birth certificate is issued by the Registro Civil. It attests the birth, its date, time and place, and the identity, sex and parentage of the person registered (Ministry of Justice (opens in a new tab)). Spain’s consulates list the kinds you can request (Consulate General of Spain in New York (opens in a new tab)):

• literal (certificado literal): an exact copy of the birth entry, with all the data on the person’s identity and the birth; a variant is issued only for a first DNI or passport;
• extract (en extracto): a summary of what the Registry holds on the birth, as it stands on the date and time of issue;
• plurilingual (internacional o plurilingüe): an extract valid in the countries that ratified the Vienna Convention of September 8, 1976, issued in the official languages of those countries, without legalization or apostille;
• negative certificate: confirms that a birth is not registered in a given Registry.

For a US visa, the Department of State treats the extract and the literal as equally valid, and either can be an original with stamps or a verifiable electronic document (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). We translate every kind, the plurilingual one included, heading by heading.

Electronic certificates and the CSV

An electronic certificate from the Registro Civil carries a secure verification code (Código Seguro de Verificación, CSV). Whoever receives it can check the document on the Ministry of Justice site with that code; codes beginning with RG, NS or MS are validated there (sede.mjusticia.gob.es (opens in a new tab)). The translation reproduces the code exactly, so the officer can match it to the original.

A certificate can be issued online on the spot only when the registry office holding the entry is digitized or computerized; otherwise the request goes in person (Ministry of Justice FAQ (opens in a new tab)). An entry can also sit in a consular registry, if the birth was registered at a Spanish consulate abroad (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).

Old entries and names

A literal copy of an old entry reproduces it as written, and so does our translation: marginal notes, stamps and corrections included. A word that can’t be read is marked [illegible]. Both surnames stay in the certificate’s order, and names are spelled as in your passport, the same in every document of your order.

Birth certificates from Latin America and the Caribbean have their own page: Spanish-⁠language birth certificates.

Where the translation goes

• USCIS: the translation and certification filed with a copy of the certificate (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (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 Spain 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.