Certified Translation vs. Credential Evaluation: Two Different Services
A certified translation renders your diploma and transcripts into English with a signed accuracy statement. A credential evaluation (by agencies like WES, ECE or SpanTran) states what your foreign degree is equivalent to in the US system — "bachelor's degree", "master's degree". Most processes need the translation; many need both.
Table of Contents
Who Needs What?
| Your situation | Certified translation | Credential evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| H-1B / employment-based petition | Yes — all non-English documents | Usually yes (degree equivalency for the specialty occupation) |
| University / grad school application | Yes | Depends on the school — many require WES or ECE |
| USCIS filings (green card, naturalization) | Yes — USCIS rules | Only when degree equivalency is at stake |
| Professional licensing (nursing, engineering…) | Yes | Yes — usually a course-by-course evaluation |
| Job applications, HR background checks | Yes | Rarely |
Order matters — and saves money. Evaluation agencies work FROM your documents and most accept them with a certified English translation. Translate first, then submit to the evaluator: one translation serves the evaluation, the petition and every future filing.
Which Academic Documents to Translate
- The diploma or degree certificate — the parchment naming the institution, the degree and the date.
- Transcripts / grade reports — required for course-by-course evaluations and most university admissions; often several pages, priced per page.
- Professional training certificates — for licensing boards and some H-1B specialty arguments.
- Secondary-school records — for undergraduate admissions (high-school diploma equivalents: baccalauréat, Abitur, bachillerato…).
What a Good Academic Translation Gets Right
Academic documents are dense with institution names, degree titles and grading scales that must be rendered precisely, not "localized": a French licence is translated as such (with the evaluator deciding it equals a bachelor's), grading scales are kept with their original values, and institutional seals and registrar signatures are all accounted for. Name spellings must match your passport — same rule as every USCIS document.
Your diploma and transcripts, translated and certified in 24-48h.
Accepted by USCIS, universities and evaluation agencies. From €36 per page, instant quote online.
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