Trained, conflict-screened interpreters for affirmative asylum, green card and citizenship interviews in Pashto, Dari and 22 more Afghan languages — matched to the applicant’s exact variety and region, briefed with counsel, and delivered in person nationwide by one accountable firm.
If you cannot proceed in English, yes — and at an affirmative asylum interview you must bring your own. USCIS does not provide interpreters at asylum interviews, except for sign language. The interpreter must be at least 18, fluent in English and your language, and must not be your attorney, a witness in your case, or a representative of your country’s government. At green card and citizenship interviews you may bring an interpreter, and you both sign Form G-1256 in front of the officer. Ariana Nexus provides trained Pashto, Dari and Afghan-language interpreters who meet these requirements, matched to your dialect and region.
Four changes this year raise the cost of an interpreter who is late, unqualified or disqualified on the day. Each is verified against its primary source.
Last verified September 22, 2026. Summary only, not legal advice — confirm with counsel before relying on it.
Three interviews, two kinds of USCIS office, different interpreter rules. We staff all three in person.
| Rule | Asylum office (Form I-589) | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400) |
|---|---|---|
| Does USCIS provide an interpreter? | Asylum office (Form I-589)No. You bring your own, except for sign language. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)No. You may bring your own if you need one. |
| Who can interpret | Asylum office (Form I-589)Someone at least 18, fluent in English and your language, and competent to interpret. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)Someone fluent in English and your language who can interpret competently and neutrally. |
| Who cannot interpret | Asylum office (Form I-589)Your attorney or accredited representative; a witness testifying for you; a representative or employee of your country’s government; under USCIS guidance, a person whose own asylum case is pending and not yet interviewed. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)Your attorney or representative, or a witness in your case. The officer may disqualify any interpreter. |
| What the interpreter signs | Asylum office (Form I-589)An oath at the interview to interpret fully and accurately. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)Form G-1256, signed with you in front of the officer — not in advance. |
| Monitoring | Asylum office (Form I-589)A USCIS contract interpreter may monitor by telephone and flag errors. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)The officer assesses the interpretation in the room. |
| If the interpreter is missing or disqualified | Asylum office (Form I-589)Without good cause, USCIS may treat it as a failure to appear; rescheduling requires exceptional circumstances since August 21, 2026. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)The interview may be rescheduled, delaying the case. |
| Counsel attendance | Asylum office (Form I-589)In person since May 18, 2026, except in limited circumstances. | Field office (Forms I-485 and N-400)In person since May 18, 2026, except in limited circumstances. |
Sources: 8 CFR 208.9(g); USCIS affirmative asylum interview guidance; Form G-1256; USCIS Field Offices alert of May 18, 2026. Summary only, not legal advice.
Officers weigh consistency between the application, the documents and the testimony. In our assessment, six points carry most of the interpreting risk in Afghan interviews.
“On August 24, 2021, I ran away from my job in the district.”
“On August 15, 2021 (24 Asad 1400), I fled my post at the district government office.”
The unchecked rendering shifts the date by nine days and turns fleeing a government post into leaving a job. Illustrative example, not from a client matter.
Seven requirements every interpreter meets before a USCIS assignment.
The federal court interpreter certification exam is offered only in Spanish, and USCIS does not certify interpreters. For Afghan languages, the standard is whatever the provider sets. Ours is written, assessed and enforced in-house — and we train Afghan-language interpreters beyond our own bench to meet it.
| Consideration | Relative or friend | Freelance or general agency | Ariana Nexus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meets USCIS minimums | Relative or friendSometimes; a relative who testifies cannot interpret | Freelance or general agencyUsually | Ariana NexusScreened before every assignment |
| Trained for legal and asylum settings | Relative or friendRarely | Freelance or general agencyVaries by individual | Ariana NexusRequired |
| Matched to variety and region | Relative or friendBy chance | Freelance or general agencyOften booked as “Farsi” or general Pashto | Ariana NexusAssigned by variety, region and gender |
| Conflict screening | Relative or friendNot independent | Freelance or general agencyRarely documented | Ariana NexusDocumented before assignment |
| Case glossary and date conversion | Relative or friendNo | Freelance or general agencyRarely | Ariana NexusStandard on asylum engagements |
| Backup if the interpreter cannot attend | Relative or friendNone | Freelance or general agencyDepends on availability | Ariana NexusStandby interpreter for asylum interviews |
| Confidentiality | Relative or friendInformal, with community exposure | Freelance or general agencyContract-dependent | Ariana NexusWritten; mirrors 8 CFR 208.6; no recording |
| Accountability | Relative or friendNone | Freelance or general agencyOften subcontracted | Ariana NexusOne firm, in-house, named interpreter |
Our assessment of typical arrangements, not of any named provider.
Most Afghan applicants interview in Pashto or Dari, but many give their clearest account in a first language that is neither. We staff 24 Afghan languages. Pashto and Dari are staffed nationwide; for the smaller languages, availability is confirmed at intake.
USCIS interviews happen in person, and so do we. Our interpreters travel to asylum offices and field offices across the United States, serving Afghan diaspora communities wherever the interview is scheduled.
Marked: metros with large Afghan communities. Coverage is nationwide; only Washington, D.C. is an office.
Fees are quoted in writing after intake, based on interview type, office location, language and variety, and expected length.
Our USCIS interview interpreting is led by alumni and scholars of Cornell University, the University of Chicago, the University of British Columbia and Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg who come from the Afghan community — not a roster of freelance bilinguals. These are the people accountable for this service.
Hassan Ukasha is the Managing Partner of Ariana Nexus in Washington, D.C. He oversees the firm’s operations and holds executive accountability for this program: the standard every interpreter is trained and assessed against, the conflict and confidentiality commitments on this page, and the terms each engagement runs on. He is the partner accountable to every client.
Languages: Pashto, Dari; English, Urdu, Hindi; working Arabic.
No. For affirmative asylum interviews, USCIS requires applicants who cannot proceed in English to bring their own interpreter and does not provide one, except for sign language interpreters for applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing. USCIS may use a contract interpreter by telephone to monitor your interpreter’s accuracy. If you do not bring a competent interpreter without good cause, USCIS may treat it as a failure to appear.
If you need one, yes. USCIS field offices expect applicants to bring their own interpreter to green card (adjustment of status) and citizenship (naturalization) interviews, and you and your interpreter sign Form G-1256 in front of the officer. For citizenship, you may use an interpreter only if you qualify for an exemption from the English requirement, such as 50/20 or 55/15, or a medical disability exception; otherwise the interview is conducted in English.
At an asylum interview, your interpreter must be at least 18 and fluent in English and your language, and cannot be your attorney or accredited representative, a witness testifying on your behalf, or a representative or employee of your country’s government. USCIS guidance also excludes anyone whose own asylum application is pending and not yet interviewed. At field office interviews, your attorney or a witness in your case cannot interpret, and the officer may disqualify an interpreter who is not competent or neutral.
Sometimes, if they meet USCIS requirements and are not a witness in your case. But relatives and friends often summarize long answers, soften painful testimony or know people in the account, and many cannot render Solar Hijri dates and legal terms accurately. If they are disqualified on the day, the interview can be lost. A trained, independent interpreter reduces those risks.
No. Afghan Dari and Iranian Persian (Farsi) are closely related but differ in vocabulary, pronunciation and everyday terms, including words for offices, places and family relationships that matter in testimony. An interpreter who speaks Iranian Persian may misunderstand an Afghan applicant or be misunderstood. Book a Dari interpreter from Afghanistan, or a Hazaragi interpreter if that is the applicant’s variety.
Yes. You choose the interpreter you bring, and we assign a woman interpreter on request, which is common when testimony involves gender-based harm. We confirm the interpreter’s name before the interview so you know who will attend.
USCIS may treat the absence of a competent interpreter as a failure to appear unless there is good cause, and since August 21, 2026 an asylum interview can be rescheduled only for exceptional circumstances. That is why we assign a named interpreter and hold a standby interpreter for every asylum interview.
Plan for in-person attendance. USCIS sets how each interview is conducted, and since May 18, 2026 it has required attorneys and accredited representatives to attend field office and asylum interviews in person except in limited circumstances. Our interpreters attend in person nationwide; preparation sessions with counsel can take place by video.
No. USCIS requires a competent interpreter: a person fluent in English and your language who can take an oath or sign Form G-1256. Translation apps and AI tools cannot do that, and they often mishandle Afghan names, Solar Hijri dates, Pashto and Dari dialects, and trauma testimony. We do not use machine translation to interpret interviews.
Fees depend on the interview type, the office location, the language and variety, the expected length, and whether preparation sessions are included. We quote in writing after a short intake, before anything is booked.
As soon as the interview notice arrives. Asylum evidence is now due 14 calendar days before the interview, and preparation with counsel should happen before then. Early booking also secures the right variety and interpreter gender, and matters most for the smaller Afghan languages.
Yes. Asylum information is confidential under 8 CFR 208.6, and our interpreters work under written confidentiality obligations that mirror it. We do not record interviews or preparation sessions by default, U.S. assignments are staffed by interpreters located in the United States, and nothing is routed through channels controlled by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan.
As of September 22, 2026: USCIS placed holds on pending benefit requests for nationals of listed countries, including Afghanistan, in December 2025 and expanded the list in January 2026. A federal court in Rhode Island vacated the hold policies on June 5, 2026, and on August 14, 2026 the First Circuit stayed only the policy of re-reviewing approved benefits, so the holds remain vacated while litigation continues. Rules can change quickly; check USCIS alerts and ask your attorney how this affects your case.
Immigration courts provide their own interpreters for hearings, and USCIS uses government contract interpreters for credible fear and reasonable fear interviews. We support the work around those proceedings: attorney-client meetings, preparation of declarations, sight translation, and certified translation of Afghan documents.
No. USCIS does not certify interpreters, and no federal certification exists for Pashto or Dari: the federal court interpreter certification exam is offered only in Spanish. What USCIS requires is an interpreter who is competent and neutral. We go further: every Ariana Nexus interpreter holds a university degree, is assessed in the exact variety they interpret, is trained for legal settings and follows a written code of ethics — and we train Afghan-language interpreters beyond our own bench to the same standard.
This page explains USCIS interpreter requirements and our service. It is not legal advice, and Ariana Nexus is not a law firm. Rules change; confirm with an attorney or accredited representative before relying on any statement here.
Send the interview notice and the applicant’s language and variety. Everything you share is held in confidence.
Request an interpreterOr call (202) 771-0224.
