NEPAL · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Nepal Documents for USCIS
Translating Nepali civil documents for USCIS carries a few distinctive challenges. Records are kept in Nepali using Devanagari script, dated in the Bikram Sambat calendar (roughly 56–57 years ahead of the Gregorian year), and many ward-office entries are partly or fully handwritten. Nepal is also not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille — a document is legalized through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only when authentication is required, though USCIS itself generally just wants a certified English translation. Our native-Nepali specialists handle the BS-to-Gregorian date conversion, Devanagari transliteration, and passport-consistent name spelling that keep these filings from drawing avoidable RFEs.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM NEPAL
Pick Your Document
Nepali Birth Certificate →
Nepali Marriage Certificate →
Nepali Divorce Decree →
Nepali Death Certificate →
Nepali Diploma →
Nepali Academic Transcript →
Nepali Police Record →
Nepali Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Nepal are issued by the Local Registrar's Office (स्थानीय पञ्जिकाधिकारीको कार्यालय) at the ward level, under the Department of National ID and Civil Registration (DoNIDCR / राष्ट्रिय परिचयपत्र तथा पञ्जिकरण विभाग), Ministry of Home Affairs · official language(s): Nepali. Nepal is not a Hague Apostille country, so no apostille exists; civil documents are authenticated by consular legalization — notarization, then the Chief District Officer / District Administration Office, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department of Consular Services, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu), and where required the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC. For most USCIS filings, however, what you submit is a certified English translation of the Nepali record rather than a legalized original.
Every document above is translated by a native specialist, reviewed by a second linguist, and delivered with a signed Certificate of Accuracy that USCIS accepts under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — or we fix it free and cover your resubmission fee.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nepal issue an apostille for USCIS documents?
No. Nepal is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so no apostille is available. When authentication is needed, documents are legalized through consular legalization — notary, then the District Administration Office, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu, and where required the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC. For most USCIS filings, though, what you actually attach is a certified English translation of the Nepali document; USCIS generally does not require the foreign original to be apostilled or legalized.
My Nepali certificate is dated in Bikram Sambat — how is that handled?
Nepal's official calendar is Bikram Sambat, roughly 56–57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (so a document dated 2080 BS is about 2023–24 AD). A proper certified translation renders the BS date and provides or clearly notes the Gregorian equivalent, so your date of birth, marriage, or death matches your passport and petition and doesn't trigger an RFE.
The record is handwritten in Nepali — can it still be translated for USCIS?
Yes. Many older ward-office records are handwritten in Devanagari. Our native-Nepali specialists transcribe and translate them, and where a word is genuinely illegible we mark it "[illegible]" rather than guess, which is exactly how USCIS expects unreadable entries to be handled.
How will my name be spelled in the English translation?
We match the romanized spelling on your passport. Nepali names transliterated from Devanagari can be spelled several ways (for example Shrestha vs. Shreshtha), and USCIS cross-checks names across documents, so we keep every translation consistent with your passport and citizenship certificate.