Some Russian and English words sound almost the same but mean different things. In everyday conversation that's amusing. At a USCIS interview or in court, one such word can change the meaning of testimony: whether a person was arrested or only detained, what they were convicted of, what document they received. Here are a few examples from Mikhail's practice.
«Арест» isn't always an arrest
In the U.S., an arrest means being taken into police custody, usually brought to a station, and the fact goes into the records. In Russia and other former Soviet countries, «арест» under the law is first of all a measure ordered by a court: pretrial custody, house arrest, or administrative arrest of up to 30 days. A short hold at a police station is called «задержание» or «доставление», detention.
Someone held at a police station for a few hours will say «меня задержали», not «меня арестовали». For an asylum officer, and for the application's questions about past arrests, the difference between arrested and detained is fundamental. The interpreter has to understand what actually happened, not reach for the word that sounds alike.
DUI or wet reckless?
A DUI is driving under the influence. A wet reckless is a California conviction for reckless driving involving alcohol, often the result of a plea bargain. In Russian, both easily come out as «вождение в нетрезвом виде», drunk driving, but legally they are different offenses with different consequences, including for an immigration case. The officer has to hear exactly what the person was convicted of. That one distinction can decide the outcome.
Повестка: summons, subpoena or call-up notice?
In Russian, all of these are «повестка»: a notice to appear at the police or before an investigator, in court, or at the military enlistment office. In English they are different documents: a summons is an official order to appear, a subpoena compels a witness under threat of penalty, and a draft notice is a conscription or call-up notice. For an asylum applicant summoned by an investigator or the draft office, the right word decides whether the officer understands what the person feared.
«Протокол» isn't a protocol, «рапорт» isn't a report
A Russian «протокол» is an official record of an action: a record of interrogation, of detention, of a search, of an administrative offense. The English protocol means mainly a procedure or set of rules, as in diplomatic protocol or a treatment protocol. «Протокол допроса» is a record of interrogation, not an interrogation protocol. «Протокол задержания» is a detention report.
A «рапорт» is an official internal report from an officer to a superior, such as a police officer's report to his chief. The English report is much broader: a report, a notice, or a police report filed on a victim's complaint. Mix them up, and you distort who reported what, and to whom.
Школа, гимназия and the gymnasium
«Школа» is a school. But the English school can also mean a university or a faculty: law school, medical school. And a «гимназия» is a school with an advanced curriculum, often a selective one, while a gymnasium in English is a sports hall. Rendering «окончил гимназию» as "graduated from a gymnasium" leaves an officer or a credential evaluator guessing.
Moral turpitude and good moral character
And what, from a language standpoint, is a crime involving moral turpitude, or good moral character? Rendered literally into Russian, these terms explain almost nothing. There are, however, formulations that are far from obvious, yet once a Russian speaker hears them, they understand at once what is meant and can answer questions about these concepts properly. And green card and citizenship decisions often turn on exactly these questions.
What it means for you
These and many similar concepts decide how an officer or a judge understands your words. Mikhail knows the difference because he brings more than language: years in immigration court, more than 750 USCIS interviews, and training in immigration law and forensic linguistics.
The same goes for concepts that exist only inside the system: the confidentiality waiver, the bona fide marriage exemption, a sworn statement taken in front of a second officer. You won't find them in a dictionary; they are known to someone who has worked inside the system for years. That is why, with Mikhail, your words are understood exactly as you said them.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Mikhail Bogomolny
California-certified court interpreter (English–Russian) with 17+ years of experience in courts, immigration courts and USCIS interviews. Mikhail is not an attorney, and nothing on this site is legal advice.