Nzebi interpreting by phone or video for immigration interviews, courts and hospitals nationwide, plus certified translation of the French actes and judgments filed with USCIS.
Prism Linguistics provides Nzebi interpreters, usually by phone or video, for immigration interviews, court hearings and medical appointments anywhere in the United States, together with certified English translation of the French civil records that Nzebi families from Gabon and Congo file with USCIS.
Last reviewed September 2, 2026 by Sarah J, Prism Linguistics
Nzebi comes up rarely, and when it does the real question is whether French will serve instead. Nzebi (also written Njebi or Bandjabi) is spoken in southern Gabon and just over the border in Congo, and almost everyone who speaks it was schooled in French. So for a working-age applicant a French interpreter usually does the job, and we say that honestly rather than sell a scarcer one. Our office is in New York, and because in-person Nzebi linguists are very scarce here, an Nzebi assignment is nearly always by phone or video.
Nzebi had roughly 140,000 speakers in figures gathered in the early 2000s, spread over several closely related dialects, so we ask the speaker's district and country before assigning anyone. Where French does not serve is with an elderly parent who never grew comfortable in it, or a witness recounting a village dispute in the language it was argued in. Those speakers need an Nzebi interpreter, not a French one, and telling the two situations apart at intake saves an appointment that would otherwise stall.
At an adjustment or naturalization interview, and above all at an asylum interview, the interpreter has to carry the answer as spoken, without smoothing or explaining it. That is our standing instruction to every Nzebi interpreter, and we never let a relative fill the role. If the applicant is genuinely more precise in Nzebi than in French, Nzebi is what we send, whatever would be quicker to arrange.
No state runs a certification exam in Nzebi, so a court that needs it works with a qualified Nzebi interpreter, and for a language this rare it is usually an agency the court reaches. Nearly all of it is covered remotely. We take instructions from courts and attorneys directly, and we are a private agency and not a court-appointed vendor, said plainly before any booking.
A hospital that takes federal funds must supply an Nzebi interpreter at no cost, though a French interpreter will meet the need for most patients from Gabon or Congo. The exception is the elderly patient, or anyone whose account of symptoms comes out clearest in the mother tongue. Video handles a consultation. Where a longer or more delicate conversation calls for it, we arrange whatever presence the small pool of Nzebi speakers allows.
The record in an Nzebi file is almost always French, because neither Gabon nor Congo registers births in Nzebi. A Gabonese applicant brings an acte de naissance from the local centre d'état civil, either a copie intégrale, which shows the marginal notes USCIS should see, or a shorter extrait. Where a birth was never declared, the proof is a jugement supplétif from the tribunal de première instance, a court order that must be translated as the judgment it is, witness statements and all. Congolese papers follow the same French pattern. We translate the French in full, add any statement a family wrote in Nzebi, and spell each name to the passport. The wider service is at certified translation.
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 Nzebi interpreters work nationwide. For in-person work we assign someone based in or near the city. These are the areas where Nzebi 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 Nzebi assignment ever falls short, tell us and we put it right.