How do you translate a Venezuelan birth certificate (partida de nacimiento) for USCIS?

What a Venezuelan partida is

In Venezuela, births are recorded by the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) of the municipality where the child was born, or by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which runs the registry (Ley Orgánica de Registro Civil, art. 30 (opens in a new tab)). A copy can be requested at the registry office or online through SAREN, the registries and notaries service (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).

The partida has no security features: it is a copy of the entry in the registry book. Each copy must carry the note es copia fiel del original (“a true copy of the original”), stamped or as part of the standard wording toward the end, and the stamp and signature of the registry’s authority (same source). The translation renders that note and the stamp in full.

If a birth certificate is unavailable, the Department of State names an alternate: Datos Filiatorios, a certified record of identifying details issued by SAIME, the identity and migration service. We translate it the same way.

What the translation includes

We translate the partida in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)). Under Venezuela’s Civil Registry Law, a birth record must contain (Ley Orgánica de Registro Civil, arts. 81 and 93 (opens in a new tab)):

• the record number and the registrar’s name, ID number and the resolution that appointed them;
• the date, time and place of birth, with the hospital or other place, and the number, date and issuer of the medical birth certificate;
• the child’s unique identity number, given names, surnames and sex, and the words “son of” or “daughter of”;
• the parents’ names, ID numbers, nationality, age, occupation and residence, and the same details for the declarants and witnesses;
• fingerprints and signatures.

Acts that change a person’s civil status are entered as marginal notes on the record (art. 153 (opens in a new tab)), and a court ruling that changes it is inserted with a marginal note on the original record (art. 152 (opens in a new tab)). We translate every note. Handwritten copies are routine for us; a word that can’t be read is marked [illegible].

Names with two surnames

If the partida gives two surnames, we keep both in its order and use the spelling from your passport. Send us that spelling with your order, and every document in the order will match.

Where the translation goes

• USCIS: the translation and certification filed with a copy of the partida. 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 (civil documents (opens in a new tab)). Since November 1, 2025, immigrant visas for Venezuelans are processed at the US Embassy in Bogotá (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 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.