Asylum, court and hospital interpreting in Iranian Persian, nationwide, plus certified Farsi translation of the shenasnameh and the rest of an immigration file.
Prism Linguistics provides Farsi interpreters for asylum interviews, immigration and court hearings, depositions and medical appointments anywhere in the United States, in person, by phone or by video, in Iranian Persian rather than Dari, along with certified English translation of Iranian documents from the shenasnameh to police clearances.
Last reviewed September 2, 2026 by Sarah J, Prism Linguistics
Finding a Farsi interpreter is rarely the hard part. Finding one who works in Iranian Persian rather than Dari, who has no tie to the person in the room, and who can reach a particular courthouse or clinic on a set date, is what takes a network. Prism Linguistics runs a single office, in New York, and assigns Farsi linguists from across the country to the job in front of them. For in-person work we send someone based near the appointment; for phone and video we can usually connect the same day.
Iranian Americans are one of the most geographically concentrated immigrant communities in the country. Pew Research places roughly 230,000 of them, close to three in ten, in a single Southern California metro around Los Angeles, and reports that about six in ten were born abroad. The Farsi calls we take are for the parent or grandparent who never worked in English, the recent asylum arrival, the witness whose everyday English deserts them under questioning. Working-age professionals seldom need us. Their families and the newest arrivals do.
Iranian Farsi, not Dari. Persian from Iran and Dari from Afghanistan are close enough for a conversation and far enough apart, in vocabulary and in the register of officialdom, that an Iranian describing an arrest should not be interpreted by a Dari speaker. We treat the two as separate assignments and send an Iranian interpreter for an Iranian client. We also screen for community ties before an asylum job, because Farsi-speaking circles are small and an applicant who suspects the interpreter knows someone back home will stop talking.
Asylum is where Farsi interpreting is hardest and where a weak interpreter does the most damage. The applicant is recounting a religious conversion, a political arrest or a family rupture to a stranger, and the officer or judge is weighing each word for consistency. An interpreter who smooths a frightened answer, or hands over the word the applicant was reaching for, can undo a credibility finding that the account itself would have supported. We brief Farsi interpreters to render precisely what is said, in the register it is said.
California is one of the states that runs a certification exam for Farsi court interpreters, and Persian is among the most requested languages in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Most other courts work with a registered or otherwise qualified Farsi interpreter instead. Tell us the court and the case type and we confirm what that bench will accept before you book. We take instructions from attorneys, law firms and the courts directly, and we say plainly what we are: a private agency, not a court-appointed vendor.
Consent conversations, oncology consults, psychiatric assessments and discharge planning for an elderly patient are the medical calls that reach us. Any hospital that accepts federal funding has to provide a Farsi interpreter at no charge to the patient, and many Iranian families do not know they can ask. Ask the provider first. When they cannot arrange it in time, families and attorneys book us directly. Video handles most consults well. We send an interpreter in person when a patient's age, condition or distress makes a screen the wrong tool.
An Iranian immigration file is built on the shenasnameh, the identity booklet from the National Organization for Civil Registration, and USCIS wants the whole booklet: the birth entry, the later pages for marriage and children, and the blank pages marked as blank. The national card, marriage contracts, family-court divorce decrees, university degrees and transcripts for credential evaluation, and police clearances make up the rest. Two things sink a Farsi translation done carelessly. Dates sit in the Iranian solar calendar, so a year like 1370 has to convert to 1991 and be exact, because a birth date one day off the passport reads as an identity discrepancy. And a Persian name has no single English spelling: Mohammad, Mohammed and Muhammad are one man.
We spell every name to match the passport and note the other forms against the original, and reproduce stamps from offices renamed since 1979 as printed rather than quietly modernising a record. Each document is delivered with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy, prepared to meet USCIS requirements. The full document service is set out at Farsi translation services.
Tell us the date, the city and the setting, or send a clear scan of the document. We reply with a fixed price and, for interpreting, a named linguist. Call +1 (833) 282 8883, email info@prismlinguistics.com, or use the quote form and you will hear back within 60 minutes during business hours.
Our only office is in New York, and our Farsi interpreters work nationwide. For in-person work we assign someone based in or near the city. These are the areas where Farsi work is concentrated; the full list of 288 cities is below it.
Prism Linguistics is rated 4.6 out of 5 across 67 client reviews for its interpreting and translation work in the United States. That is the company-wide figure; we do not publish a separate rating per language because there is no honest way to measure one. If a Farsi assignment ever falls short, tell us and we put it right.