Do certified translations expire?
Do certified translations expire? No. The USCIS rule sets no expiration date on a translation, and it stays valid for as long as the document it mirrors stays the same. The catch for Brazilians is that the DOCUMENT often changes, and that is what this page untangles.
The rule has no expiration date
8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for a complete translation and a signed certification. It never says the certification goes stale. A translation done years ago is as valid today as the day it was signed, provided the original document has not changed, and officers treat it exactly that way.
The Brazilian catch: re-issued certidões
Cartórios do not photocopy your record, they issue a fresh segunda via with a new issue date, and sometimes new averbações, every time you ask. That fresh via is a new document. If you order a new certidão for a filing, the translation must match THAT copy, dates and annotations included. Filing an old translation next to a newer original is a mismatch an officer can flag.
Reusing translations across filings
The I-485 today, the N-400 in five years: the same translation serves both when the source document is unchanged. Keep the PDFs we deliver; there is no need to buy the same work twice, and we will tell you so if you try.
Your translation is handled and signed personally by Ivy, a native Brazilian Portuguese speaker, and it comes with the signed Certificate of Accuracy USCIS requires under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
Common questions
Can I reuse my green card translations for the N-400?
Yes, while the source documents are unchanged. Keep the delivered PDFs; the same files serve the next filing.
My police certificate has a validity date. Does that expire the translation?
The DOCUMENT expires, not the translation. When you order a fresh certificate, that new document needs a translation matching it, because the reference numbers and dates change.
An office told me the translation must be recent. Is that real?
Usually the office means the underlying document must be recently issued. Ask which one they mean; if they genuinely want a fresh translation of an unchanged document, the old one can simply be re-dated by its translator, or redone.
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