Do I need an apostille for USCIS? No, and here is the rule

What USCIS actually requires

The regulation on foreign documents is 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3): a complete English translation plus the translator's signed certification. Read the whole rule and the word apostille never appears. An apostille authenticates the signature on the original document between Hague Convention countries; it says nothing about what the document means in English, which is the part USCIS needs.

Why Brazilians over-buy apostilles

Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2016, and cartórios sell the apostila de Haia at the same counter that issues your certidão, often suggesting it with enthusiasm. The apostille has real uses: documents going INTO Brazil, and some US state offices and courts that state the requirement in their own instructions. For a USCIS filing, it is a stamp the officer was never going to look for.

Already have one? Nothing is lost

If your certidão arrived with an apostille attached, send it exactly as it is. We translate the complete document, apostille page included, because the completeness rule covers every element on the paper. The translation prices the same way, $19 a page, and the apostille rides along without costing your case anything.

The order of operations, when you do need one

Getting married abroad, registering documents with a state office that asks for it, sending US documents to Brazil: when an apostille is genuinely required, get it on the original FIRST and translate second, so the apostille itself appears in the translation. And for the reverse direction, Brazil-bound US documents want the apostille plus a tradução juramentada made in Brazil, which is a different product from ours.

The person doing your translation is Ivy, a native Portuguese speaker from Brazil. She signs the Certificate of Accuracy on every order, which is the certification 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires.