Moving to the USA: preparing document translations
Preparing a move to the USA? Identify who will receive your documents, check the translation…
Start with the receiving authority’s checklist
A move from the Netherlands to the United States can involve several separate document requests. Identify who will receive each item: an immigration authority, university, employer or another organisation. Use that recipient’s current checklist to decide what to obtain and translate.
Keep the instructions with your files. Our document translation services help you find the relevant service once the document type, language and intended use are clear.
Distinguish USCIS from consular processing
For documents submitted to USCIS, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation with the translator’s certification of completeness, accuracy and competence to translate into English. Include the applicable form instructions in your translation brief.
The National Visa Center’s civil-document guidance uses a different language rule: documents not written in English or the official language of the country from which you apply need certified translations. Check the instructions for your case and interview location before translating Dutch records.
Organise the specific records requested
List the records named in your checklist, rather than ordering a standard bundle for every move. A birth certificate translation or marriage certificate translation may be relevant when that record is requested in another language.
For a separate work or study application, ask the employer or institution which qualifications and supporting records it wants. Our diploma and transcript translation service provides the enquiry route for those documents.
Agree the format before translation starts
Send complete, legible files and identify any reverse sides, stamps or attachments. Tell us which names and spellings must match your application, and include reference material for specialist terms.
Use the document preparation checklist to organise the material. Explain any requirement for originals, copies or additional formalities so the translation and delivery can be planned together.
Request a quote for your US document set
Request your no-obligation quote with the documents, target language, receiving authority, its instructions and your submission date. Urgent Vertalen will confirm the translation work we can arrange, price and delivery time before you order.
For the wider document planning around departure, see our moving-abroad document guide. Keep immigration eligibility and application decisions with the relevant authority or your immigration adviser.
