Is It Possible To Be Deported If Your Documents Are Mistranslated?

Is it possible for you to get deported if your documents are mistranslated? Do you need legal translation services for these documents?

How important is an accurate translation?

For example, can you get deported if your documents are mistranslated? We will answer that question and others related to it.

Contents

1 documents are mistranslated Document Translation
2 Is It Possible To Be Deported If Your Documents Are Mistranslated?
- 2.1 Immigration Fraud through Documents
3 Things to Remember about Translated Documents

documents are mistranslated Document Translation

When you enter another country, you may be asked to obtain a visa. The process for getting a visa varies from one country to another. It will also vary depending on the type of visa that you are trying to obtain. For this article, we will take the example of the United States.

The United States of America allows citizens of 40 countries to enter the United States without any visa and stay there for 90 days. If you don’t belong to one of those countries then you will be asked to obtain a visa first.

To obtain an entry visa into the U.S. a person will be asked for documents. In cases when the documents are not written in English, a translation may be required. While the U.S. has plenty of resources, there is no guarantee that there is a staff member available who can read the documents you submitted. The Ranchod Law immigration lawyer has helped thousands of clients across the nation, live and work in the United States. You can contact them for any immigration-related assistance.

Which Documents Must Be Translated?

All documents that you need to submit which are written in a language other than English must be translated. From birth certificates to bank statements, if those are not in English then you need to have them translated.

How to Translate Your Immigration Documents

Translating immigration documents should be handled by legal translators. Some people have a misconception that legal translation is just relevant to the documents used in courts and legal proceedings. The truth is legal translation services can be used for translating all types of public documents, including those that are used for getting visas.

Certified Translation

One of the requirements of the U.S. government is that the translations that you will submit must be certified. The certification basically must state that the translator is competent in both English and the language the original document was written in. The certification should also have a statement that they translated the document to the best of their abilities and knowledge of the languages involved.

The certificate must include the translator’s information. A copy of the original document must be included in case the authorities want to check the accuracy of the translation.

Should Translated Documents Be Typed

There is no written rule, at least for the United States, which states that document translations must be typed. Similarly, there is no rule prohibiting the submission of handwritten translations. However, the translated documents should be typed to make it easier for those who will be evaluating them.

Also, handwritten translations might seem unprofessional and can be taken against you. In other words, it’s best to have it typewritten to be sure.

Is It Possible To Be Deported If Your Documents Are Mistranslated?

Yes, it is possible.

Under U.S. law, foreigners who provide fraudulent documents or false information can be charged with a criminal act. Immigration fraud is a serious offense. In fact, those who commit can be charged with a federal crime.

Immigration Fraud through Documents

The United States government takes providing false information to process immigration very seriously. 18. U.S. Code Section 1546 defines fraud and the misuse of visas and other immigration documents. That law does not directly state that a mistranslation is a crime but a mistranslated document could mean that the authorities are being given false information regarding the visa applicant.

Not only can the visa holder be deported, but fraud could also mean being charged with a crime in the States. Using fraudulent documents is a crime involving moral turpitude, which would mean that a person convicted of that will have a hard time entering the United States again.

In other words, you need to make sure that your documents are properly translated before you submit them. A single mistranslation that alters your information can cause a lot of problems for you.

Things to Remember about Translated Documents

Here are a few things to remember about translated documents.

Nothing should be added or omitted from the information contained in the original document. It should contain the same information as the original.
Do not abbreviate words. Refrain from using acronyms or if you have to use them, make sure you give the definition.
Do not forget to have the translation certified. It will not matter if the translation is very accurate if it is not certified.
Do not use Google Translate or some other online translation tool. Those tools are not yet designed for legal translation.

If your Documents are mistranslated then it’s highly unlikely that you will go to prison for a mistranslation but it can affect your visa application if the reviewing authorities find that a piece of vital information about you is different in the translated document. Don’t risk it.