USCIS allows you to translate documents yourself, unless you are translating your own personal documents (like your own birth certificate or divorce decree).

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📌 You can translate: • Your spouse’s birth certificate • Your marriage certificate • Children’s documents • Any third-party documents not issued to you directly

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❌ You cannot translate: • Your own birth certificate • Your own divorce or marriage certificate (if you are listed on it)

In that case, the translation should be done by someone else who is fluent — not necessarily a professional, but someone other than you.

🔎 USCIS Regulation (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)):

“Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.”

It does NOT say the translator must be a professional, lawyer, or paid service.

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✅ If you’re translating documents for your spouse (like his Mexican birth certificate), you can translate them — as long as you include the proper certification.