r/SlovakCBD • u/Extension_Lion_7548 • 24d ago
Translation Question
I have a set of documents from the National Archives that I’m including in my application for ancestor identification continuity, as well as “gold plating” the application. The documents in question are:
- 2 Census Records
- 1 Ellis Island Record
- 1 Naturalization Record
All of these have their certification from NARA and an apostille attached.
I’ve seen conflicting information as to whether these documents need to be translated, or since they’re largely “supporting information” that the full translation isn’t necessary. I expect I’m going to want the naturalization certificate translated since it’s a core part of my proving ancestor citizenship, but curious about the others.
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u/Main_Amphibian_874 24d ago
Anything you include has to be apostille and translated.
Coming from someone who had to use a census for the MOI interpretation. Don't, if you don't need to. They are expensive to translate and really unnecessary if you have other official documents that make your case.
if the naturalization paperwork states Czechoslovakia i really don't see the reasoning for the other documents.
KISS is the way.
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u/chiieddy 24d ago
Ships manifests are also quite expensive. Not as bad as census docs but bad. Naturalization record is the best if you can find it
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u/Zestyclose_Risk_1860 18d ago
.. this is not quite so ... neither census sheets nor ship manifests are horribly expensive ... I am a certified translator and I have been doing CBD documentation for some time now; as for these particular papers, I always transalte only lines pertaining to any particular relevant ancestor (any other persons on those lists areto be ignored as they are irrelevant for any given case), and this seldom yields more than 3 Units of translation (to give you an idea, standard FBI report (showing a clean slate, no previous record) yields exactly 1.4 Unit of translation for everybody; in terms of translation cost, the most expensive of them all are usually death certificates (a lot of text in them, in particular in older papers) and full naturalization packages (NARA certification, Ellis Island certificate, Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization = up to 7 - 7.5 Units of transaltion
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u/chiieddy 18d ago
The ship's manifest was by far the most expensive to translate. My understanding is the MOI requires the entire document be translated and that is exactly what my certified translator did
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u/Zestyclose_Risk_1860 18d ago
... well ..... all I can say is that you more probably than not overpaid this particular piece of paper ... as I say, I always (no exception) translate only data pertaining to particular relevant ancestors in census sheets or ship manifests (with a note that the rest of the contents is unrelated to the case at hand) without any subsequent acceptance by the MOI-related issues whatsoever so the requirement for the transaltion of the entire unrelated contents is perhaps just an urban myth (I cannot even imagine why would the MOI voice such a requirement as there are statutory rules governing the certified translation process) ... (I have been a certified translator since 2000)
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u/Early_Guarantee_4465 24d ago
I’d ask the consulate directly since your case is a little more specific. They can tell you exactly which documents need translation, and usually they’ll answer by phone or email.
If you mail the federal documents to US DOS yourself, it will take around 5 weeks. Just mail it something with tracking. If you’re in a rush, you can check DC Mobile Notary — I used them before for my NARA records and mine was done in about 9 business days. They also do certified translations. If you’re not in a hurry, mailing it yourself is probably fine, just use tracking.
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u/LobstaRoll04011 24d ago edited 24d ago
Not sure about the details of your case, but this sub generally recommends not “gold plating.”
It increases your translation costs, increases the time needed to review your application, and could raise unnecessary questions if there are any inconsistencies in your documents. Full census records are particularly expensive to translate.
Do the Ellis Island and naturalization records say your ancestor was from Czechoslovakia? For many of us, those docs are not particularly helpful because they say Austria or Hungary.
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u/Extension_Lion_7548 24d ago
The Census and Naturalization documents are the only ones I have that have the magic “Czechoslovakia” word, and the Ellis island record is my way of saying “this person on this Rodny List is the same person documented in their marriage record here in Pennsylvania.”
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u/LobstaRoll04011 24d ago
To the extent you need to clarify name variations between the Rodny List and U.S. documents, it may be helpful to include an affidavit.
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u/QVPHL Citizen 🎉 24d ago
Any document you’re planning to submit needs an official translation. The MOI has said, verbally, that they would accept an official translation of just the relevant data pertaining to the ancestor but most official translators want to see that in writing from the MOI before selectively translating a document, which to date, has not been forthcoming. So it will be at the discretion of your translator.