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GOOD FAITH, ON THE RECORD.

Certified translation

Punjabi certified translation for USCIS

Every message translated beside the original, with the Certificate of Translation Accuracy that 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for. Punjabi is written in Gurmukhi and runs left to right, and 4 regional varieties are recorded under it separately.

Writing system
Gurmukhi
Direction
Left to right
Spoken in
2 countries
Varieties recorded
4
Measured quality
chrF 0.79 against a public corpus

Where Punjabi is spoken

IndiaPakistan

What to call yours

Clients rarely say “Punjabi”. They say the name they grew up with, and it usually resolves the script, the vocabulary and sometimes the direction in one word. These are recorded separately so nobody has to know which language their own dialect is filed under.

VarietyScriptDirectionSpoken inWhat a translator needs to know
MajhiGurmukhiLeft to rightPakistan, IndiaThe standard Punjabi dialect.
MirpuriArabicdiffers from PunjabiRight to leftPakistan (Mirpur), United KingdomPahari-Pothwari, Mirpur. Very common in the British Pakistani diaspora. Arabic script.
PahariArabicdiffers from PunjabiRight to leftPakistan, India (Kashmir)Pahari-Pothwari; Arabic script in Pakistan.
PothwariArabicdiffers from PunjabiRight to leftPakistan (Rawalpindi, Mirpur), United KingdomPahari-Pothwari; Rawalpindi and Mirpur, and much of the British Pakistani diaspora. Arabic script.

What USCIS actually requires

8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) is the whole of it: a full English translation, certified by the translator as complete and accurate, together with their certification that they are competent to translate from Punjabi into English.

There is no approved-translator list, no credential requirement and no notarisation mandate — notarisation attests to a signature, not to accuracy. Summaries are not permitted at all, which is why a Punjabi chat exhibit is produced message by message however long the conversation runs. What “USCIS approved” actually means.

What it costs

One record is $499, certified, whatever its length — a four-year conversation costs what a four-month one costs. Agencies commonly charge by the page and define a page as 250 words, which is survivable for a birth certificate and ruinous for a chat export. The arithmetic on 100 pages.

Certified translation for USCISSee pricing

Punjabi is one of 167 languages across 26 writing systems. The full list, and all 98 regional varieties, is on the languages page and in the variety table.