wife speaks no english

[Skye_Cohen 1]

http://www.visajourn...&cty=&dfilter=5

This link has reviews from couples from Indonesia about their interview experience. Check it out! and good luck!

And thank you so much justine + david, pretty encouraging reading those!

[SPSguy 18]

I would definately ask the local embassy/consulate if they would allow the petitioner to be present. This helps a lot.

My wife has had two interviews..one for her k3 and another for her IR 1. We live and work in her home country and it's best to go this route. I have seen and heard American consulates speak broken Cambodian and it's aweful at best. The first time we went there were no translators, just Americans speaking the local language. For our second interview, there were interpretors present.

Being able to speak Cambodian makes me a bit skeptical. Regularly the interpretors would use the wrong words, wordings, or skip translations. I saw people get rejected and I think a lot had to do with the quality of the translation.

Depending on the people, I think, I've seen interviews go well even if either side is language challenged. A little stuttering due to language can be construed as poor language, just as well as uncertain answers. Bottom line is be there if you can, otherwise, frontload as the other poster has suggested to minimize questions of relationship.

On a better note, I am of the belief that most cases are decided, whether approved or not, before the interview time. The actual interview is just to validate what was sent to USCIS and NVC. If it is a legitimate relationship, everything will fall into place as most consulates are human beings too. They understand the challenges and process people go through.

[Darnell 8,478]

Oh cool! thanks for showing us yours, 'helps me tons to see. So Yeah the paperwork in indonesia has been a challenge, she finally got the wedding certificate and birth certificate (after an official working at the office extorted $$ from us and put us 3 months back in our plans.. anyway) Those are physically in Bali with my wife but i have photocopies to send with my I-130, i was somehow under the impression that the real certificates were needed only at the interview, I will re-visit the VJ guides and the official instructions from the I-130 .pdf

The 'original documents' requirement is for NVC - see

DS-230 - http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html (read all 7 pages of this one, please)

I-864 - http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3730.html

General NVC stuff - http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1335.html

[stevai 0]

seems like this would have been covered plenty but in searches i only found topics relating to AOS interviews, sorry if making people repeat themselves

Okay so really a two part question

PART 1: my wife speaks no English, how might that effect her interview for our IR1/CR1 I-130 petition at the US embassy (she is in Indonesia and will remain until after visa is obtained) ((unless anyone has ideas of how to get her here before that, i think she doesn't have enough money or assets to get a tourist visa))

PART 2: If a translator is needed at the embassy, could it be me? I speak fluent Indonesian, fluent conversational Indonesian anyway. I often need her to translate others' Indonesian into "our" Indonesian but the two of us have no trouble communicating between each other. I would really love to go to the interview with her and translate but it is a risk with the timing because she doesn't feel confident to fly on her own here after her visa is obtained because of her lack of English and lack of experience flying. If i go to the interview with her and she doesn't "pass" for one reason or another, delaying the process, i will have to return alone and save money and vacation time all over again which certainty adds to our time apart, I don't want that and neither does she.

Also i don't know if this is relevant to this question or not but I feel that our evidence of a bonafied marriage is relatively decent, my whole family went to the wedding in Indonesia and i have many photos of both familys together, phone records, tons of congratulation letters postmarked just before i left the us for the wedding and some other stuff, no commingled finances though.

Any thoughts from anyone to help me clarify these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi komang skye,

I have first hand experience in US Embassy Jakarta, and I tell you it was really easy. Indonesia is not a fraud country so the interview atmosphere is relaxing. The CO is able to speak Indonesian and really friendly, we joke around a lot. I joined in to the interview room with my wife, it seems the CO ask me more questions than her! All in all only less than 5 questions asked, the rest the CO doing was looking at documents and his computer monitor. He then congratulate us, and said we can pick up the passport w/visa in 3 business days.

[Skye_Cohen 1]

Stevai: oh cool! terima kasih! great to read! where in indonesia is your wife from? I would love to hit you up for tips or just you and your wifes expirience after immigration, after getting here and settling in to such a different country. Has she been able/interested in locking into an indonesian community? is there one in denver? anyway i dont want to pry some of these things may be personal or at least not appropriate to get into too much detail over a bb, if interested and have the time, i would love to ask you about you and her expiriences.

[Skye_Cohen 1]

SPSguy: good thoughts, i will have to mull it over. The time all needs to line up so perfectly which makes me nervous..

... wait so a plane ticked cannot be purchased before Yuli(my foreign spouse) gets her visa? obviously she cannot board one but it seemed from LingChe's NVC shortcut wiki that only after the visa is obtained can a plane ticket be bought, have i misread that??

That is important in my decision to accompany Yuli to the interview or not because i will need to buy a ticket before the interview for her to return with me if I am to go there during the interview and accompany.

Also the bit about their mind perhaps being made before the interview, i think that is good advice, even if wrong it is good advice, i will think of my packets that i send in as opportunities to show nvc and uscis how engaged i am in this relationship as opposed to simply filling in forms and supplying info

Darnell: oh excellent! you know i have read so much of this stuff over and over, and there are no difficult concepts but so many simple pieces, easy to confuse and transpose and forget.. very helpful just now to see that nvc link right now. I have been reading it over and over and it is giving me peace of mind as my brain slowly builds a map with this information.

I do have a question though about required paperwork, i'm sure i read somewhere that police records arent required for indonesia. NVC, if i understand correctly, will tell me everything that we need to have when they send out the packet. In the meantime where do i check requirements for a given country? i could swear i saw a link on VJ before.

[stevai 0]

SPSguy: good thoughts, i will have to mull it over. The time all needs to line up so perfectly which makes me nervous..

... wait so a plane ticked cannot be purchased before Yuli(my foreign spouse) gets her visa? obviously she cannot board one but it seemed from LingChe's NVC shortcut wiki that only after the visa is obtained can a plane ticket be bought, have i misread that??

That is important in my decision to accompany Yuli to the interview or not because i will need to buy a ticket before the interview for her to return with me if I am to go there during the interview and accompany.

Also the bit about their mind perhaps being made before the interview, i think that is good advice, even if wrong it is good advice, i will think of my packets that i send in as opportunities to show nvc and uscis how engaged i am in this relationship as opposed to simply filling in forms and supplying info

Darnell: oh excellent! you know i have read so much of this stuff over and over, and there are no difficult concepts but so many simple pieces, easy to confuse and transpose and forget.. very helpful just now to see that nvc link right now. I have been reading it over and over and it is giving me peace of mind as my brain slowly builds a map with this information.

I do have a question though about required paperwork, i'm sure i read somewhere that police records arent required for indonesia. NVC, if i understand correctly, will tell me everything that we need to have when they send out the packet. In the meantime where do i check requirements for a given country? i could swear i saw a link on VJ before.

I have this bookmarked.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/visa_4354.html

You can find country specific information. You have to get Surat Kelakuan Baik from Mabes Polri in Jl. Trunojoyo, Jakarta, but if your wife is not in Jakarta I think there's other way, I'm not so sure about this.

There's Indonesian community almost in every big state. West coast states and east coast, texas and colorado usually has pretty sizeable Indonesian community.

I PM you my e-mail address if you have any questions.

[DebbyNSeyi 15]

re: tracking down papers and Indonesian Bureacracy - I hope you left Indonesia with a copy of her birth certificate and a copy of the marriage certificate. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SUBMIT ANY originals of these, on initial I-130 submittal. You must send originals to NVC, during NVC processing.

I don't believe it is required to send ORIGINALS of Birth Certificates or a marriage license to NVC unless they specifically ask for it. I know people that have been approved without sending originals of any documents besides the signed forms of course.

[Darnell 8,478]

I don't believe it is required to send ORIGINALS of Birth Certificates or a marriage license to NVC unless they specifically ask for it. I know people that have been approved without sending originals of any documents besides the signed forms of course.

Oh- I do hope you can change yer belief, a bit ? There is requirement for DS-230.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html

[DebbyNSeyi 15]

Oh- I do hope you can change yer belief, a bit ? There is requirement for DS-230.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html

It says original documents or certified copies.

[mamamimi 8]

Hi I hope I can be of help... When i got my green card (many years ago) I had to go to the US embassy in Chile, they spoke english and spanish!

[Orn 0]

Hai Komang ... I just read your Hot Topic here, it's been long time I never open this site coz I am in US already

I will try to give you some information based on my experience, For interview actually you don't have to be there with ur wife because the officer in Embassy can speak Indonesia fluently. If you read my interview review in Indonesian Portal it's very ease as long as you sent all documents required to NVC. I bring all copies even the original & lots of wedding pictures but none of them was look by interviewer because we sent all documents that required to NVC before the interview in Embassy.

About the plane ticket, you can purchased it when your wife got the confirmation date for interview in Embassy ( this is if you want to be with her in Interview ) but if you just want to pick her up & flight together to US, buy the ticket after your wife finish interview & got white small paper to pick up her passport ( it's only took a week after the interview for her to get her visa in her passport )

For Indonesian Community, If you are stayed in Portland OR, don't worry ... there are lots of Indonesian women there, I know it because my hubby originally from Oregon in St Hellen exactly but now we are stayed in Seattle WA. If you like I can introduced your wife with my friend who live in St John Portland

Hope it will help for both of you the information, Salam kenal ....