Most of the qustions were asked by the interpreter not the CO

[tcTTct 37]

A friend of mine had a CR1 interview on Tuesday which resulted in an RFE for a timeline.

She was interviewed for approximately 30 minutes and said that the CO asked about 4 questions, the rest of the questions were asked by the Vietnamese translator girl who was was acting like she was conducting the interview.

One of the questions asked was "Why did you choose this particular man for your husband?"

Is it out of the ordinary for the translator to be asking (not translating) most of the questions?

[ScottThuy 140]

Sad to say but its fairly common that the translators are the ones doing the interview and in essence making the decision... potentially outsourcing a portion of the US immigration/visa process is a huge issue that should be addressed given the extent that DHS has gone to secure the borders..

[confusedasheck 21]

If the translators are making the decision, I wonder how often they get some coffee money. Given that trait of Vietnam, I would think it unwise to let them make the decision.

[luckytxn 2,263]

If the translators are making the decision, I wonder how often they get some coffee money. Given that trait of Vietnam, I would think it unwise to let them make the decision.

Screw that. Any employee at the consulate has to be a member of the party or in good standing somehow. They are not allowed to work there unless they are in league with the communist party. They also have a hostile and rude attitude to the VN that do show up there.

Yes it also means they are spies and have to often go and talk to their party superiors about what they have seen or heard.

[seattlerain 1]

Stereotyped or not, its so true that the majority of the interpreters / Vietnamese Citizen working in there are very rude. Seen it. They need to act professionally.

[tuvaty 3]

i agree with some posts in here. i feel that some VNese employees working for any government will feel that they are "con troi`", that they have the power to change lives. it's not stereotype, but it's true that VNese do tend to make it harder for VNese, just for the sake of being VNese. talk about unity here...

[svu 1]

I agree with comments that Vietnamese who work for a govt. office (either for "nha nuoc," or US Consulate) are often very rude and act as if they are gods. They know that the person on the other side of the table is at their mercy since they, the govt. worker, could make the paperwork process very difficult. My wife and I experienced that at multiple points (So Tu Phap, her local quan & ward offices).

Dealing with them is a necessary evil.

But to keep it in perspective, it's all relative. I've heard of anecdotal cases where other countries are worse when it comes to lack of transparency, customer service, corruption and so on.

[Anh map 2,098]

The best way for the interpreters to be kept out of the interview is for the beneficiary to be able to carry on the conversation in English. It certainly doesn't have to be perfect English. If the CO sees a facility with the language then they will engage the beneficiary and ask the questions. If they see struggling then they will let the interpreter take the lead.

Help your fiance(e)s and spouses become comfortable with English. It will boost their confidence going in. And being confident is a big, big help at the interview.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

The best way for the interpreters to be kept out of the interview is for the beneficiary to be able to carry on the conversation in English. It certainly doesn't have to be perfect English. If the CO sees a facility with the language then they will engage the beneficiary and ask the questions. If they see struggling then they will let the interpreter take the lead.

Help your fiance(e)s and spouses become comfortable with English. It will boost their confidence going in. And being confident is a big, big help at the interview.

Anh...

My fiance is fluent in English. Will the CO (or translator) engage her in English and decide, or does she need to initiate the request that the interview be conducted in English? Thanks !

[luckytxn 2,263]

Anh...

My fiance is fluent in English. Will the CO (or translator) engage her in English and decide, or does she need to initiate the request that the interview be conducted in English? Thanks !

Every interview I have heard of they asked if the interviewee wanted it done in English or Vietnamese. She can say English.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

Every interview I have heard of they asked if the interviewee wanted it done in English or Vietnamese. She can say English.

Thanks Lucky !