How do you translate a Ukrainian marriage certificate for USCIS?
For a marriage-based petition, USCIS asks for a copy of your marriage certificate with a full English translation and the translator’s signed certification. We translate the Ukrainian svidotstvo pro shliub in full, older booklet certificates and register extracts too, with every seal and stamp. A Ukrainian marriage certificate is usually one page: $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the certificate shows
A Ukrainian marriage certificate (svidotstvo pro shliub) is issued by a district or regional civil registry office on the day the marriage is registered. It bears a wet seal and the signature of the head of the office (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). The form names both spouses with their dates and places of birth and citizenship, gives the date of the marriage in figures and words and the number of the marriage record, and ends with the registry office, the date of issue and the series and number.
One line shows the surname of each spouse after the marriage. Under Ukraine’s Family Code, a couple may take one surname as their common one, each keep their own, or join the other’s surname to their own (Family Code, Article 35 (opens in a new tab)). So the two surnames on that line can differ.
We translate the whole form, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)): every line, the seal, the signature, a “Duplicate” mark and any stamp on the back.
Older formats and register extracts
Marriages registered earlier may come with a booklet: the State Department lists the svidotstvo pro odruzhennia and the svidotstvo pro ukladennia shliubu as alternate documents. A lost certificate is re-issued from the registry record the same way as a birth certificate. After a divorce, it is not re-issued, and an extract from the State Register (vytiah) confirms the dates of the marriage and the divorce and the surnames before and after.
Only a civil registration makes a marriage legal in Ukraine: a religious ceremony alone does not. Marriages performed in occupied Crimea or the occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are not recognized in Ukraine (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
How we spell names
Ukrainian names follow your passport or Ukraine’s official transliteration (Resolution No. 55 of 2010 (opens in a new tab)), patronymics included, such as Oleksandrivna. If one spouse isn’t Ukrainian, the certificate writes their name in Ukrainian letters, and we take the spelling from that spouse’s own passport. Send us both spellings with your order.
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: for Form I-130, a copy of your marriage certificate and documents showing that any earlier marriage legally ended, each with a full English translation (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 Ukrainian if you are applying for your visa in Ukraine. Immigrant visa cases for citizens and residents of Ukraine are processed at the US Embassy in Kyiv (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). What NVC accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Our Ukrainian documents are translated and certified by a native Ukrainian speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Sample translations
6 samplesEach sample has the original, the translation and the signed certificate. Personal details are blurred.
Questions
My marriage has ended. Can I still get a new marriage certificate?
Ukraine doesn’t re-issue a marriage certificate once the marriage has ended. The State Department points to an extract from the State Register instead: it shows the dates of the marriage and the divorce and the surnames. We translate the extract in full. The divorce has its own page: [Ukrainian divorce certificate](/en/guides/ukrainian-divorce-certificate/).
How much does it cost?
A marriage certificate is usually one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so a marriage certificate with a register extract and a birth certificate is $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for USCIS: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and that’s included. If an apostille is already on your certificate, it goes into the translation.
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.