Laos consulate interpreter falsifying translation during interview?

[Isamu 0]

So, my fiancee is pretty concerned as well as I. She said the guy who is running her paperwork on her side said recently there has been a huge wave of K1 denials from the Laos embassy when under this certain interpreter. News also came that one interviewer came out saying that the consulate asked her if she was engaged to the USC and after replying yes in her native tongue, the interpreter said no, they are married thus giving the consulate no choice but to deny the K1 petition. This is completely outrageous and is there anything that can be done? I heard no one has gotten a visa through this interpreter as of yet.

[Ricky+Vanessa 43]

So, my fiancee is pretty concerned as well as I. She said the guy who is running her paperwork on her side said recently there has been a huge wave of K1 denials from the Laos embassy when under this certain interpreter. News also came that one interviewer came out saying that the consulate asked her if she was engaged to the USC and after replying yes in her native tongue, the interpreter said no, they are married thus giving the consulate no choice but to deny the K1 petition. This is completely outrageous and is there anything that can be done? I heard no one has gotten a visa through this interpreter as of yet.

Is the interpreter provided by the Embassy? Has anyone made an official complaint?

[Isamu 0]

Is the interpreter provided by the Embassy? Has anyone made an official complaint?

Yes, he is provided by the embassy, and no, no one has of yet put in an official complaint, at least to my knowledge. How does one go about doing so?

Edited April 28, 2010 by Isamu

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes, he is provided by the embassy, and no, no one has of yet put in an official complaint, at least to my knowledge. How does one go about doing so?

Unless this has actually happened to you or your fiancee, anything you said would merely be hearsay based on what a document prep service has told you. If this actually DID happen to your fiancee, and she has enough of a grasp of English to know for certain that it happened, then you could submit a complaint to the chief of the Visa services unit at the consulate, and also to the Consulate General's office. From there, you can go as high up the food chain as you like until you get to Ms. Clinton, the Secretary of State.

Honestly, your complaint would probably be added to a file of similar complaints. Consulates get bombarded with complaints about specific consular officers or consulate employees all the time. Hopefully, if enough complaints are amassed against the same person for the same reasons then the consulate will at least investigate the matter.

The consulate in Vietnam has the same problem. The local Vietnamese employees treat the visa applicants like #######, and the interpreters are known to intentionally misinterpret things the applicant says. A carefully frontloaded petition can often help you get the approval from the CO before the interview begins, reducing the chances that a disgruntled local employee would be able to poison the interview. If they don't ask many questions, then there's not much to misinterpret.

[Isamu 0]

Unless this has actually happened to you or your fiancee, anything you said would merely be hearsay based on what a document prep service has told you. If this actually DID happen to your fiancee, and she has enough of a grasp of English to know for certain that it happened, then you could submit a complaint to the chief of the Visa services unit at the consulate, and also to the Consulate General's office. From there, you can go as high up the food chain as you like until you get to Ms. Clinton, the Secretary of State.

Honestly, your complaint would probably be added to a file of similar complaints. Consulates get bombarded with complaints about specific consular officers or consulate employees all the time. Hopefully, if enough complaints are amassed against the same person for the same reasons then the consulate will at least investigate the matter.

The consulate in Vietnam has the same problem. The local Vietnamese employees treat the visa applicants like #######, and the interpreters are known to intentionally misinterpret things the applicant says. A carefully frontloaded petition can often help you get the approval from the CO before the interview begins, reducing the chances that a disgruntled local employee would be able to poison the interview. If they don't ask many questions, then there's not much to misinterpret.

I figured as much, thanks for the reply's everyone. My interview is still a ways away so I'll just keep on top of the game as best I could. I'm just at a loss for words as all this hard work and money could be put down by one unhappy person in the chain and there's basically nothing that can be done about it until after the fact and even then, it's a long hard road.