To be clear about what we do: Selládo is an online certified translation service. We translate the documents in your asylum file. We do not provide interpreters for interviews — that job has to be done in the room, and we work remotely. This guide is here because the rule confuses people and most pages explaining it are trying to sell you something. Everything below is free to use.
What changed, and
when
Between September 2020 and September 2023, USCIS supplied free telephonic interpreters in 47 languages as a COVID-19 measure. Many people still remember that arrangement and assume it is current. It is not. That temporary rule expired on September 12, 2023.
Since September 13, 2023, the long-standing regulation at 8 CFR 208.9(g) applies again: if you cannot proceed with your affirmative asylum interview in English, you must provide your own interpreter, at no expense to the government. Sign language interpreters are the only exception — USCIS still provides those as a disability accommodation, and you request one by following the instructions on your interview notice.
Your interpreter must be
physically present
This is the part people get wrong most often, and it is worth being blunt about. USCIS does not allow the interpreter you bring to participate by telephone or video. Before the pandemic rule, the applicant's interpreter was required to be in the same room during the interview, and that is the practice USCIS returned to.
The only interpreter on the phone is the government's. USCIS uses contract interpreters to monitor interviews telephonically — but that person's role is limited to monitoring the quality of your interpreter's work. They are not there to interpret for you.
The direction of travel is toward more physical presence, not less. As of May 18, 2026, USCIS no longer permits attorneys and accredited representatives to participate remotely in affirmative asylum interviews except in limited circumstances. If a service offers you a remote interpreter for an asylum office appointment, ask them directly how that complies.
Who is allowed
to interpret
Your interpreter must be at least 18 years old and fluent in English and a language you speak fluently. Beyond that, USCIS excludes several categories. Your interpreter may not be:
— your attorney or accredited representative
— a witness testifying on your behalf
— a representative or employee of the government of your country of nationality (or of last habitual residence, if you are stateless)
— a person with a pending asylum application who has not yet been interviewed
That last one surprises people constantly. A friend from your community who is waiting for their own asylum interview cannot interpret for you, no matter how good their English is.
What happens if you
get it wrong
If you need an interpreter and do not bring one — or bring someone who turns out not to be fluent in both languages — and you cannot establish good cause, USCIS may consider it a failure to appear. That can mean your asylum application is dismissed, or referred to an immigration judge. Good cause is decided case by case.
There is now less room to recover from this. USCIS has announced that beginning August 21, 2026, an applicant must establish exceptional circumstances for the agency to reschedule an affirmative asylum interview.
When you should not
pay anyone
If your case is defensive — you are in removal proceedings and your hearing is before an immigration judge at EOIR — the court provides an interpreter free of charge. Do not hire one. Companies do sell interpreting to people in this situation who did not know it was already covered.
Check your notice. An appointment at a USCIS asylum office is an affirmative interview and the interpreter is your responsibility. A hearing before an immigration court is defensive and the interpreter is the court's. If you are unsure which one you are holding, ask your attorney, or send us a photo and we will tell you which it is — we are not selling interpreting either way.
A note on
"USCIS-certified" interpreters
You will see this phrase advertised widely. USCIS does not issue a credential called "USCIS-certified interpreter" for these appointments. What the regulation asks for is an interpreter who is competent and fluent in English and your language. Treat the label as marketing, and ask about actual experience with asylum interviews instead.
What we can
help with
The interpreter handles the spoken part of your interview. Everything written in your file — your declaration, police reports and denuncias, medical and psychological records, news articles, chat threads used as threat evidence, identity documents — has to be submitted in English with a signed certification.
That is our work, and it is done entirely online: send a photo from your phone, get a certified PDF back. Certified translation starts at $29.95 per page, standard delivery in 24 hours. See asylum document translation for what we handle and how confidentiality works.