Employment Contract Translation for the USA

The signed certificate of accuracy

In the United States the official assurance behind a contract translation is the signed certificate of accuracy attached to it; the declaration states that the translation is complete and accurate and carries the translator’s name, contact details and signature. The translation covers the whole of the document: every article, every annex, signatures and seals included. A translation without that declaration counts as one of uncertain origin. Because the integrity of the document is assessed in USCIS applications alongside the other evidence the employer submits, an incomplete translation weakens the file.

Which document, and in which procedure

Work-based visa procedures in the United States (H-1B, L-1 and the like) most often call for a translation of the offer letter or the employment contract; the document shows that the post and the salary are consistent with the application. Since USCIS assesses the document together with the other evidence the employer submits, every page of the contract and every annex has to be translated in full. The term of the contract, the job title and the salary form the basis of the application.

An inconsistency in any of these fields weakens the file. The translation carries this information across as the document has it, without interpretation; judging its legal character is a matter for the recipient.

Confidentiality and non-competition clauses are often set out separately and at length in US contracts, and provisions in the nature of an NDA carry legal consequences. The translation carries them across in full and with the right terms, neither softening their scope nor widening it. Where there are clauses on intellectual property or the assignment of inventions, they too are translated as the document has them; the translator offers no legal reading of any clause. Carrying these provisions across faithfully is what allows employee and employer alike to sign in reliance on the document.

Annexes, working conditions and the signature block

The annexes attached to the contract – the job description, the salary scale, the benefits – are part of the document and are included in the translation. Working hours, the probationary period and the terms of termination are translated exactly as the document has them. Signatures and seals are marked in square brackets; the place of signature and the date are carried across exactly. The signed certificate of accuracy is the assurance that all of this content has been translated in full and accurately. Where the document runs to several pages the page order is preserved, and the translation is presented in the same arrangement as the source contract.

Consistency with the employer’s file

In US work visa applications the contract or offer letter is assessed together with the other documents the employer submits, statements of the terms and supporting letters among them, and the consistency between those documents is examined closely. The job title, the salary and the place of work in the contract have to agree with the information given across the application as a whole. The task of the translation is to carry this information across as the document has it, without interpretation; an inconsistency weakens the file even where it arises from a conflict between the documents rather than from the translation. The translation therefore preserves the salary with its currency, translates the title faithfully and covers every page and annex in full. The signed certificate of accuracy is the assurance that this content has been carried across completely and accurately; submitting it together with the original, in a way that makes clear which belongs to which, allows the officer to read the translation and the source side by side.

Do not make the title or the contract type resemble a US template

US employment relations have concepts of their own, ‘at-will employment’ among them. To make a Turkish employment contract resemble a US contract type such as ‘at-will’ in translation is to load the document with a legal character it does not carry. In the same way the job title is translated with an intelligible English counterpart, but it is not equated on the person’s behalf with a US occupational category. The translator carries the terms in the text across exactly; judging their legal character is a matter for the recipient.

Salary, the arrangement of the articles, and confidentiality

The salary is carried across as it stands, with its currency (TL/₺); it is not converted into dollars, because the document shows the amount agreed in the contract. The numbering of the articles is preserved exactly; merging articles or reordering them breaks the cross-references. Confidentiality clauses (NDA / confidentiality) carry legal consequences and are therefore translated in full and with the right terms; their scope is neither softened nor widened.

Certification, and common mistakes

Watch the following steps to keep the document intact:

• Verify that the certificate of accuracy has been attached to the translation.
• Do not make the contract resemble a US type (‘at-will’).
• Preserve the salary with its currency, and obtain the apostille before the translation where one is needed.

The United States is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the apostille position on the official HCCH list. You can see the level of certification required for other document types on our document types page, upload your document for a quote, and review the cost on our pricing page. This page is for general information and is no substitute for legal advice; confirm current requirements with the authority concerned.