1300 bucks for translation...had no idea

[beauac]

Dropped off my docs on friday for translation, guy said he would call me today with quote. I was expecting it be like 300-400. There are 12 documents, birth, marriage, death, and some other stuff. Now I am scrambling to find something cheaper as my appointment nears closer. This project has cost me nearly all of my savings so far, starting to feel a bit scared here. Its like gambling really, the final end result is not even guarenteed.

[johnnyonthespot]

Beau,

Contact Gabriella Eniga at gabriella_einaga@att.net (remove the spaces).

And, remember, you do not need certified translations. You will be charged a great deal more for certified.

[beauac]

Thanks alot, I just emailed her and somebody else also. Also I dont think the guy was thinking about certified, but then again maybe he was, dunno.

[ForzaItaliaPgh]

Ciao beauac,

I ran into the exact same thing. I thought I would be paying a couple hundred bucks, but my quote came in at $900. I quickly emailed a bunch of different translators off the official list provided by the consulate and ended up getting everything for around half that. I did get certified translations, although I really wasn't looking for that. It is a really expensive process.

[beauac]

Found a nice lady to do it for 750. Considering the time constraints it seems ok, better than 1300. Im still waiting for a response from the lady Carmine recommended. Ill see.

[mike123]

Carmine do you recommend her? Is it ok if I email her as well?

[jennabet]

Just would like to mention. When I started my process in 2000, I was living legally in a Spanish speaking country. I had to give my documents to the Italian consulate in that country and that consulate did all of my translations absolutely FREE OF CHARGE before it co-ordinated my case with the Philadelphia consulate.

Actually, the Consulate itself should do the translations because they are there to serve the needs of Italian citizens. If the Consulate accepts your documents in the first place, then you ARE an Italian citizen. Obviously, the consulates in the USA are just too busy to provide this type of service, given the demand.

[DeFilippis78]

So the translators recommended by the consulate are decent priced then?

[johnnyonthespot]

... the Italian consulate in that country and that consulate did all of my translations absolutely FREE OF CHARGE before it co-ordinated my case with the Philadelphia consulate.

When I first began collecting documents, the NYC consulate did as you say - they did the translations themselves at no cost to the applicant. Somewhere in late 2007 or early 2008 they changed their policy.

I need to make it clear once again: unless something has changed, NYC requires only the applicant's own birth marriage and/or divorce certificates to be translated (plus spouse and children's birth certificates, if applicable). For my own case and others I have read about, it was not necessary to translate documents pertaining to earlier generations.

I keep repeating this because there is a huge difference in cost to translate 3 or 4 documents vs. 10 or 15. If not certain, better to translate fewer and then have the consulate ask for the extra translations then to spend a lot of money only to find out it wasn't necessary.

[DeFilippis78]

Carmine,
Ive been told by Philly they want a translation of every birth, death and marriage certificate for every person in direct and non direct. Thats outrageous. It will cost me a small mortgage lol

[johnnyonthespot]

Carmine,
Ive been told by Philly they want a translation of every birth, death and marriage certificate for every person in direct and non direct. Thats outrageous. It will cost me a small mortgage lol

Was it the paid "Help" line that told you this? Frankly, I think they are wrong.

The last I heard, none of these documents are registered or even sent to Italy; only the applicant's own documents. If that is the case, I cannot imagine any reason to translate the others.

I know it's easy for me to say this, but I would go to the consulate with translations of only my own documents and wait for the stato civile officer to tell me that I absolutely must do the others as well. Then I would say, okay, I will have them done and mail them to you next week.

Meanwhile, please do seek out reasonable sources for translations. You can pay anywhere from $15.00 per birth certificate up to $120.00 or more.

[DeFilippis78]

It was on their website. So I need numerous documents because its back generations. At least 20 documents to translate. I find myself willing to gamble and only translate direct line. Hell, I might gamble and only bring in direct line documents in general. Too many people told me they barely glance at non direct documents and toss them back to you. What do ya think?

[Squigy]

What about Houston, Carmine? Do you know if they just require translations for the applicant's documents? I mean, all the other documents and apostilles will cost me around $500, so that's not too bad.

[Gianna75010]

DeFilippis78,

I know someone who just got citizenship through the Philly consulate and they translated all their documents themselves. They don't even speak Italian and just used online translation sites. I wouldn't necessarily recommend using online translation sites because they're not very accurate, but I only mention it as evidence that Philly is not very strict with translations. If I were you, I would try to use some online templates and translate them yourself. I'm 99% confident that Philly will accept them.

Gianna

[DeFilippis78]

Gianna,

Thats awesome news. Can you message the templates to me that she /he used? I can always double check my own translations with some family members who speak it but cant be bothered to do it for me.