Prism Linguistics provides Assyrian (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Sureth) interpreters for asylum interviews, immigration court, depositions and medical appointments in Rochester and nationwide, and certified translation of the Arabic and Persian records that Assyrian families from Iraq and Iran actually hold.
Assyrian Interpreters in Rochester
Our Assyrian interpreters in Rochester are professional, experienced linguists who work in asylum offices, immigration and state courts and hospitals, assigned as Urmian, Iraqi koine or Chaldean speakers to match the family.
Assyrian, Chaldean or Turoyo? Ask the village. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic runs as a dialect chain from the villages north of Mosul to Urmia in Iran, and its own dialects understand each other well; Urmian and the Iraqi koine are the two most Assyrian speakers know. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, spoken by Iraq's Catholic Assyrians of the Nineveh Plain, is close enough that a Chaldean and an Assyrian interpreter usually cover each other. Turoyo, the Aramaic of Syriac Orthodox families from Tur Abdin, is not. We also ask whether an older relative would rather use Arabic or Persian.
The 2020 Census counted 119,402 people of Assyrian, Chaldean or Syriac ancestry, with the largest communities in Illinois, Michigan and California. No state runs a court certification exam in Assyrian: it is not among the twenty languages tested through the National Center for State Courts, and Michigan's own exam list omits it, so courts use a qualified Assyrian interpreter and come to us for rare languages of this kind; we are a private agency, not a court-appointed vendor. Asylum claims by Assyrian Christians from Iraq and Iran turn on what happened to a church, a shop, a brother, and the Assyrian interpreter at USCIS renders it as told. A federally funded hospital must provide an Assyrian interpreter at no cost.
For an in-person assignment in Rochester we assign an Assyrian interpreter based in or near the city. Telephone and video interpreting can usually be arranged the same day. We serve courts, attorneys, hospitals, USCIS applicants and private individuals; we are a private agency, not a court-appointed vendor, and we say so up front.
Assyrian Court, Medical and USCIS Interpreters in Rochester
Prism Linguistics supplies experienced Assyrian interpreters in Rochester for asylum interviews, immigration court, depositions and medical appointments, in person or remotely, matched by church and town of origin.
Rochester is the seat of Monroe County, in New York's Seventh Judicial District. Felonies, matrimonial matters and larger civil claims go to the Supreme and County Courts for Monroe County, while offenses and smaller disputes arising inside the city go to Rochester City Court. Prism Linguistics works from one head office, in New York, and assigns a linguist based near Rochester for in-person work.
Under New York's Part 154 rules the Rochester City School District must communicate with English learner families in the home language they best understand, and it posts family forms in Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Somali and Spanish, reflecting large Bhutanese and Nepalese communities. Rochester also has the largest per capita deaf population in the country, anchored by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, so American Sign Language work is constant. Courts and attorneys come to Prism for rare languages such as Karen that other providers cannot supply.
Local Assyrian Interpreting Services in Rochester
Local Assyrian interpreting services in Rochester and nearby cities come from one national roster, so an attorney, court or clinic in any city below books an Assyrian interpreter the same way.
Our only office is in New York. For in-person work in Rochester we assign an Assyrian interpreter who is based in or near the city, and the same Assyrian linguists cover the surrounding area:
Assyrian to English Translation Services in Rochester
Certified Assyrian translation for USCIS spans three languages: Iraqi civil records in Arabic, the Iranian shenasnameh in Persian, and the Syriac-script church certificates that are the only papers actually written in Assyrian.
Assyrian speakers hold Arabic and Persian documents. Iraq wrote its civil records in Arabic: the Civil Status ID (hawiyat al-ahwal al-madaniyya), the Iraqi Nationality Certificate, and since 2016 the unified National Card that replaced both, plus birth certificates, handwritten on older forms, that record religion, which for an Assyrian asylum applicant is the point, not a detail. Kurdistan Regional Government documents must be attested by Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs before an Iraqi embassy accepts them; USCIS does not require that but wants every stamp translated. An Assyrian from Urmia or Tehran carries the shenasnameh, the Iranian identity booklet in Persian that records birth, marriage and children across its pages, which USCIS requires translated in full.
What is actually in Assyrian is the church paper: baptism, marriage and membership certificates from the Assyrian Church of the East or the Ancient Church of the East, often in Syriac script with an Arabic or English column. Our Assyrian translators render those from the Syriac alongside the civil records and spell every name to match the passport: Yousip on the baptism record, Yusuf on the Iraqi ID, Joseph on the US one, each variant noted so an adjudicator can connect the file.
Every certified Assyrian translation is a complete, word-for-word rendering with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy, prepared to meet USCIS requirements. It is done from a clear scan, so a client in Rochester gets the same translator, the same price and the same turnaround as one anywhere else in the country. See certified Assyrian translation for the document service in full.
How to Book an Assyrian Interpreter in Rochester
- Send the document or the appointment details. A phone photo is fine for a quote; a clean scan is needed for the certified copy. For interpreting, tell us the date, the setting and where the speaker is from.
- Get a fixed price within 60 minutes during business hours, and a named Assyrian linguist for interpreting work.
- Receive the translation by email as a signed PDF, with a paper copy by mail on request, or confirm the interpreter and the time.
Get a free Assyrian interpreting quote or call +1 (833) 282 8883
About the Assyrian Language
Modern Assyrian (Suret) is a Neo-Aramaic language spoken by around 600,000 people across the Assyrian Christian diaspora, historically concentrated in northern Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, plus substantial US communities in Chicago (which has the largest Assyrian-American population in the country), Detroit, and Phoenix. The community has been driven westward by repeated displacements over the past century, accelerated by ISIS-era violence in the 2010s. Our Assyrian translation work is dominated by USCIS asylum and refugee paperwork, civil documents, and the church records tied to the Assyrian Church of the East.
Assyrian Interpreting in Rochester: FAQs
Do you have Assyrian interpreters, or will you send Arabic or Chaldean?
We assign an Assyrian Neo-Aramaic interpreter and ask the family's church and town of origin to match the variety. A Chaldean interpreter usually covers an Assyrian speaker and we say when we are using one; a Turoyo speaker from Tur Abdin needs a Turoyo interpreter. We use Arabic or Persian only if you tell us the speaker prefers it.
My Iraqi documents are in Arabic. Can you translate them for USCIS if we speak Assyrian?
Yes. Iraqi civil records are in Arabic, so we translate the birth certificate, Civil Status ID, Nationality Certificate or unified National Card into English with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy, every field and stamp included and names spelled to match the passport. Iranian documents such as the shenasnameh are translated from Persian, and Assyrian church certificates in Syriac script alongside them.
Do you have an office in Rochester?
No. Our only office is in New York. Assyrian translation is done remotely from a scan, so location makes no difference to the document work. For in-person interpreting in Rochester we assign an Assyrian interpreter who is based in or near the city, and phone or video interpreting is available anywhere in the United States.
Related Assyrian Services
Why Choose Us
We Are Committed to Excellence
Every assignment follows our TEP workflow for written work – translation, editing, proofreading – with a free revision policy, and every interpreting booking is managed by a dedicated coordinator to meet regulatory and client requirements.
Professional Assyrian Linguists
Our Assyrian interpreters are vetted for fluency, subject-matter expertise and professional ethics, and certified translation work is handled by certified translators who are members of provincial bodies under CTTIC.
We Provide Excellent Customer Service
We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year – including American statutory holidays. Confidentiality is protected in line with HIPAA on every assignment.