The name printed on your passport's photo page and the name in the two lines of code at the bottom are not always the same. The international passport standard says so outright: names in the machine-readable zone "may not appear in the same form" as in the printed zone. A German passport can show MÜLLER above and MUELLER below, and different US records may end up using either.
So does a foreign passport need translating for USCIS or other US agencies? Usually not the photo page itself. Everything else in a foreign language that you rely on is another matter, and national ID cards are the most common case.
This guide explains when each agency needs a translation, which pages to translate, and how to handle the spelling conflicts that make documents look as if they belong to different people.
Does a foreign passport need a certified translation for USCIS?
Only for the parts that are not in English. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation of any document containing a foreign language, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate. A data page that is already in English needs nothing; a page with Arabic exit stamps, a third-country residence sticker or an endorsement in the national language does.
ICAO Document 9303 explains why the data page is usually readable. Where the issuing state's language is not English, French or Spanish, each printed caption is followed by an oblique and the English, French or Spanish equivalent. Names and other mandatory data in a non-Latin script must also be given in Latin transcription or transliteration, and data on the page uses Arabic numerals.
Two gaps remain:
- French or Spanish only. A passport can meet the standard without a word of English. USCIS wants English, so a certified translation is the safe course when such a page is submitted as evidence.
- National-language data. ICAO lets optional data in one zone of the page appear entirely in the national script, and endorsement or observation pages are often in the national language only.
Why can the name in the machine-readable zone differ?
Because the code at the bottom has its own alphabet. The MRZ uses only A to Z, the digits 0 to 9 and the filler sign "<", and fixed field lengths mean long names can be cut short. Latin letters with diacritics may appear unchanged in the printed zone but must be transliterated in the MRZ: ICAO's table gives Ä as AE or A, Ö as OE or O, and Ü as UE, UXX or U, with separate tables for Cyrillic and Arabic.
In practice this produces three kinds of conflict:
- Diacritics. José, Müller, Øvergaard and Dvořák lose or change letters in the MRZ, and any system that scans the passport captures that version.
- Script changes. A Ukrainian passport may show OLEKSANDR where a Soviet-era birth certificate, translated years ago from Russian, used ALEKSANDR. China now prints 吕 as LYU. Japanese passports allow either ONO or OHNO for 大野, at the holder's choice.
- Name structure. The State Department notes that current Egyptian passports do not separate surname from given names, so the US mission in Cairo treats the last name in the full name as the surname. Chinese, Hungarian and Japanese documents put the family name first.
A good translator resolves these conflicts in one direction: every supporting document uses the spelling in the passport you are using for the application. Where a document shows a different form, a translator's note records it, for example "[name transliterated in the passport as OLEKSANDR]". See name changes and foreign documents.
What does each agency want?
USCIS
Adjustment of status and many petitions ask for a copy of the passport biographic page, and sometimes visa and entry stamps. Pages entirely in English need no translation. Any submitted page with foreign-language content needs a full certified translation, and USCIS can ask for the original passport at any time.
For naturalization, travel history is reported on the N-400 itself, but an officer may review the passport, and foreign-language stamps can matter when continuous residence is questioned. See the N-400 translation guide.
NVC and US consulates
The State Department asks every immigrant visa applicant for a photocopy of the biographic data page of a currently valid passport, the page with the photo, name, and date and place of birth. Documents not in English, or in the official language of the country from which you are applying, need certified translations.
The Reciprocity Schedule also says which national IDs count. The Afghan tazkera is required from every Afghan applicant as a quasi-birth record, while Iraq's civil status ID and newer national card are not acceptable as immigrant visa civil documents. See NVC civil documents.
DMV and REAL ID
Federal REAL ID rules (6 CFR 37.11) accept an unexpired foreign passport with a valid, unexpired US visa affixed, accompanied by the approved I-94 showing the most recent admission. States run their own DMVs, and some translation rules are very specific:
- Illinois requires any document in a language other than English to come with a full English translation certified as complete and accurate, plus the translator's dated, written and signed certification of competence.
- Colorado requires foreign name-change documents to be translated, with the translator's affirmation on the same page as the translation and the number and issuing state of the translator's own unexpired driver's license, permit or ID card.
Colorado publishes the affirmation it expects:
Check your own state's DMV before ordering. For licenses themselves, see state DMV rules for foreign driver's licenses.
Banks
Under the federal Customer Identification Program rule (31 CFR 1020.220), a bank may record a non-US customer's passport number and country of issuance, an alien identification card number, or the number and country of another government-issued document that shows nationality or residence and bears a photograph. The rule does not say how to treat a foreign-language ID, so each bank sets its own policy. A passport usually works without translation; a national ID card or residence permit may be refused or need a translation.
Social Security
SSA works differently. Its operations manual says that if a person submits a foreign-language document SSA needs to review to determine entitlement, SSA will have it translated, and it tells staff not to use translation websites or apps. What matters more is name consistency. SSA treats a different spelling of the same name, a simplified foreign surname or a compound surname in a different order as minor discrepancies, and a different given name with no basis shown as major, which needs further evidence.
Which passport and ID pages should be translated?
| Document | Translate | Usually not needed |
|---|---|---|
| Passport data page | Any field, caption or note not in English | Fields already in English |
| Visa, residence and stamp pages | Every page you submit with foreign-language stamps or stickers | Blank pages you do not submit |
| Endorsement or observation pages | Always, if submitted | |
| National ID card | Both sides, including the number, issuing authority and validity | |
| Residence permit from a third country | Both sides | |
| Expired passport used as evidence | The same pages as a current one |
Each translation reproduces the document number exactly, describes photos, holograms and seals in brackets, and lists each stamp with its date, place and type (entry, exit, registration).
National ID cards that often come up
- Iran: the kart-e melli carries the 10-digit national ID number that also appears in the shenasnameh and the passport.
- Egypt: national ID cards are issued only in Arabic.
- Iraq: neither the old civil status ID, commonly called the jinsiya, nor the newer national card is acceptable as an immigrant visa civil document.
- China: the Resident Identity Card is issued by the Public Security Bureau or an authorized police station, and the household register booklet is required to obtain it.
- Afghanistan: paper tazkeras were issued before 2018 and the electronic eTazkera since; both can appear in a file.
Mistakes that cause problems
- Retyping names from the national-language field instead of copying the passport's Latin spelling.
- Translating only the front of an ID card, losing the issuing authority and expiry date.
- "Correcting" an MRZ spelling to match an older document.
- Skipping stamps on travel pages because they "only show dates".
- A friend's translation for a DMV that requires the translator's certification and license details.
Checklist before you submit an ID
Questions people ask
Does USCIS require a translation of my foreign passport?
Not if the pages you submit are already in English, which is usually true of the photo page. If you submit pages with foreign-language content, such as stamps, endorsements or French-only captions, USCIS requires a full certified English translation of those pages under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
Which passport pages should be translated?
Every page you submit that contains a foreign language: the data page if any part is not in English, visa and stamp pages relied on as evidence, and any endorsement or observation page. Blank pages and pages you do not submit do not need translating.
Why is my name different in the machine-readable zone?
ICAO rules allow only the letters A to Z, digits and the filler sign in the MRZ, so diacritics and national characters are transliterated and long names can be cut short. The printed name and the MRZ name can therefore differ, and both are valid. Systems that scan your passport capture the MRZ version, so it is worth knowing both.
Does the DMV accept a foreign passport for REAL ID?
Federal REAL ID rules accept an unexpired foreign passport with a valid US visa and the approved I-94. Each state applies its own procedures, and some, such as Illinois, require a certified translation of any document not in English. Check your state DMV before your appointment.
Will a US bank accept my foreign national ID card?
Federal rules let banks identify non-US customers with a passport number or another government-issued photo ID showing nationality or residence. Each bank decides how it handles foreign-language IDs, so a passport is usually the easiest option, and a bank that accepts your national ID may ask for a certified translation.
Do I need to pay for a translation for Social Security?
Usually not. SSA's operations manual says that when a person submits a foreign-language document SSA needs to review, SSA will have it translated. Make sure your names match across documents, because SSA treats an unexplained change of given name as a major discrepancy.
Does a passport or ID translation need to be notarized?
Not for USCIS, which requires the translator's certification of accuracy and competence. Some state agencies set their own format instead, such as Colorado's affirmation on the same page with the translator's license details. Notarization can be added when an agency asks for it.
How much does it cost to translate a passport page or ID card?
Official Translations charges $29.95 per page for a certified translation, delivered as a signed PDF by email. Typical one-page civil documents are ready within 24 hours, and longer sets of passport pages usually take one to three business days.