K1 Interview and Medical Exam in Vientiane, Laos

[lanceit01 1]

Hi all,

 

My fiancee will have a K1 interview at Vientiane, Laos in about two months. She only speaks Laos. She does not speak English.

 

1. Does anyone know if the K1 Visa interviewer at Vientiane speaks Laos? If not, is there an available interpreter on premise that is able to translate for her?

 

2. She got all of the Laos Documents translated into English except her passport since it is written in three different languages  (Laos, French and English). Does anyone know if it is necessary to translate the Laos passport into English?

 

3. Is there any fee that she needs to pay at the embassy when she goes for  the K1 Visa interview?

 

4. Is she required to fill out an English form when she get the medical examination? If so, is there someone in the hospital that is able to assist her in filling out the form?

 

Thanks

[payxibka 10,044]

3 hours ago, lanceit01 said:

Hi all,

 

My fiancee will have a K1 interview at Vientiane, Laos in about two months. She only speaks Laos. She does not speak English.

 

1. Does anyone know if the K1 Visa interviewer at Vientiane speaks Laos? If not, is there an available interpreter on premise that is able to translate for her?

 

2. She got all of the Laos Documents translated into English except her passport since it is written in three different languages  (Laos, French and English). Does anyone know if it is necessary to translate the Laos passport into English?

 

3. Is there any fee that she needs to pay at the embassy when she goes for  the K1 Visa interview?

 

4. Is she required to fill out an English form when she get the medical examination? If so, is there someone in the hospital that is able to assist her in filling out the form?

 

Thanks

1.  Interviews are done in English or the official language of the country. 

 

2.  Why would you need to translate a document that already has an English translation?

[JasonGG 267]

4 hours ago, lanceit01 said:

Hi all,

 

My fiancee will have a K1 interview at Vientiane, Laos in about two months. She only speaks Laos. She does not speak English.

 

1. Does anyone know if the K1 Visa interviewer at Vientiane speaks Laos? If not, is there an available interpreter on premise that is able to translate for her?

 

2. She got all of the Laos Documents translated into English except her passport since it is written in three different languages  (Laos, French and English). Does anyone know if it is necessary to translate the Laos passport into English?

 

3. Is there any fee that she needs to pay at the embassy when she goes for  the K1 Visa interview?

 

4. Is she required to fill out an English form when she get the medical examination? If so, is there someone in the hospital that is able to assist her in filling out the form?

 

Thanks

The American consulate officer may not speak Lao, but they will have a native-speaking interpreter with them.  One of the first questions your fiance will be asked is if she would prefer to conduct the interview in English or Lao.  Assuming you and your fiance are able to communicate, there is no judgement made if she chooses to interview in Lao.  My wife could have interviewed in English, but the process is so stressful that she was more comfortable responding in Vietnamese.  When processing through the consulate prior to the interview, the staff will most likely be giving instructions in Lao.

 

The passport does not need to be translated.  My wife's was in Vietnamese and we didn't translate it.  We only had her divorce decree and the police and birth certificates officially translated and notarized.  We did need to have it translated once in the U.S. when we applied her driver's license, though.

 

In Vietnam, the only fee we paid on the day of the interview was to expedite delivery of the passport/visa.  It was equivalent to about $20USD and probably wasn't worth it.  The visa fee paid prior to scheduling the appointment covered everything else.

 

Regarding the medical exam, everything should be in Lao and she will be dealing with hospital staff who are native Lao speakers.  The documents the doctor prepares for the consulate will be in English.   If they have not been sent directly to the consulate after the exam, your fiance will only need to give the sealed envelope containing the English medical forms to the consulate staff on the interview day.

 

Good Luck - Jason

Edited April 19, 2019 by JasonGG

[lanceit01 1]

15 hours ago, payxibka said:

1.  Interviews are done in English or the official language of the country. 

 

2.  Why would you need to translate a document that already has an English translation?

It's good to know that she is able to do the interview in her native Laos language. Regarding the passport, I asked because I wanted to be sure. Thanks for the information.

[lanceit01 1]

14 hours ago, JasonGG said:

The American consulate officer may not speak Lao, but they will have a native-speaking interpreter with them.  One of the first questions your fiance will be asked is if she would prefer to conduct the interview in English or Lao.  Assuming you and your fiance are able to communicate, there is no judgement made if she chooses to interview in Lao.  My wife could have interviewed in English, but the process is so stressful that she was more comfortable responding in Vietnamese.  When processing through the consulate prior to the interview, the staff will most likely be giving instructions in Lao.

 

The passport does not need to be translated.  My wife's was in Vietnamese and we didn't translate it.  We only had her divorce decree and the police and birth certificates officially translated and notarized.  We did need to have it translated once in the U.S. when we applied her driver's license, though.

 

In Vietnam, the only fee we paid on the day of the interview was to expedite delivery of the passport/visa.  It was equivalent to about $20USD and probably wasn't worth it.  The visa fee paid prior to scheduling the appointment covered everything else.

 

Regarding the medical exam, everything should be in Lao and she will be dealing with hospital staff who are native Lao speakers.  The documents the doctor prepares for the consulate will be in English.   If they have not been sent directly to the consulate after the exam, your fiance will only need to give the sealed envelope containing the English medical forms to the consulate staff on the interview day.

 

Good Luck - Jason

Thanks for the detail response and suggestion Jason. They are very helpful. Within an exception of one maybe two days since my fiancee and I decided to be together, we video call each other every day! Have a great day.

[TeaOhEnWhy 4]

On 4/19/2019 at 3:16 AM, lanceit01 said:

Hi all,

 

My fiancee will have a K1 interview at Vientiane, Laos in about two months. She only speaks Laos. She does not speak English.

 

1. Does anyone know if the K1 Visa interviewer at Vientiane speaks Laos? If not, is there an available interpreter on premise that is able to translate for her?

 

2. She got all of the Laos Documents translated into English except her passport since it is written in three different languages  (Laos, French and English). Does anyone know if it is necessary to translate the Laos passport into English?

 

3. Is there any fee that she needs to pay at the embassy when she goes for  the K1 Visa interview?

 

4. Is she required to fill out an English form when she get the medical examination? If so, is there someone in the hospital that is able to assist her in filling out the form?

 

Thanks

Looks like you 2 were lucky and were able to schedule an early interview in Vientiane. I completed DS-160 on July 23 and no appointments were available in Vientiane until December. Btw please update on the result, where is she now?

Edited August 26, 2019 by TeaOhEnWhy