What happens if wife can't speak english for green card interview?

[Phayamoa 0]

I am going on my third AOS forum post today. Thank you and sorry for the space I am taking up.

Suppose I file my I-485 and later on my wife (K-1 Visa) can't speak any English and receives a green card interview. I am able to speak her language fluently and very well.

Would she and I be separated?

Will they have someone able to translate for her?

There were some stories of green cards being approved without a green card interview on VJ Forums (weird).

What will happen in my scenario? Thanks

Also, is it appropriate for my wife to volunteer hours for a local food pantry? She will not get paid at all, but she would be able to bring back a small supply of food each month. Thanks

Edited April 29, 2010 by Phayamoa

[Bernie C 24]

You are responsible for providing the translator and it cannot be you. Nobody knows if you may be separated or not - case by case basis.

[TheBears 9]

Find your local Wat. I'm sure there will be people who are not related to either of you who would be able to interpret for you at the interview.

[Craneman 2]

Green Card with no interview here.

But then I lived in Brasil for almost three years, one of those years in her house.

No lack of proof of relationship.

Find your local Wat. I'm sure there will be people who are not related to either of you who would be able to interpret for you at the interview.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Craneman

[thongd4me 69]

Find your local Wat. I'm sure there will be people who are not related to either of you who would be able to interpret for you at the interview.

That would be the logical choice if you are close enough to a Laotian Wat.

I'm a 5-minute drive from a Thai Wat but I would guess the Laotian ones

are harder to find. Maybe the spouse of a VJ member who has resided

in the States for a long enough period may be able to translate.

Find a thread for Laotian VJ members or start one yourself.

Online networking on US/Laotian sites may also help you find one.

[katie & sifa 25]

As for your question about volunteering, she can certainly do that No problem.

[TheBears 9]

That would be the logical choice if you are close enough to a Laotian Wat.

I'm a 5-minute drive from a Thai Wat but I would guess the Laotian ones

are harder to find. Maybe the spouse of a VJ member who has resided

in the States for a long enough period may be able to translate.

Find a thread for Laotian VJ members or start one yourself.

Online networking on US/Laotian sites may also help you find one.

If only it were that clear cut. There are plenty of Lao at Wat Thai and Thai at Wat Lao. If you want to practice your faith, you find someplace, no matter who else is there. There are 3 Wat Thai within an hour of where I live. One of them has more Lao practitioners than they have Thai.

If I couldn't interpret for Husby, then I would make the drive to any of them and ask. It's just doing what you have to do.

I'd be willing to bet that there is someone at a Wat Thai who knows Thai, Lao, and English.

Networking is a good option, too. If all else fails, you can try Craigslist or ProZ.com to find a professional interpreter. If it were me, though, I'd still start at Wat. Even if no one there can help, they may be able to point you in the right direction.

[thongd4me 69]

If only it were that clear cut. There are plenty of Lao at Wat Thai and Thai at Wat Lao. If you want to practice your faith, you find someplace, no matter who else is there. There are 3 Wat Thai within an hour of where I live. One of them has more Lao practitioners than they have Thai.

If I couldn't interpret for Husby, then I would make the drive to any of them and ask. It's just doing what you have to do.

I'd be willing to bet that there is someone at a Wat Thai who knows Thai, Lao, and English.

Networking is a good option, too. If all else fails, you can try Craigslist or ProZ.com to find a professional interpreter. If it were me, though, I'd still start at Wat. Even if no one there can help, they may be able to point you in the right direction.

That's good to know. I didn't meet any Lao at the Thai Wat in NY, but there may be more Lao in CA.

Whatever works.

[ErikaAndHamit 73]

We didn't have any translators who spoke Turkish that we knew, nor of any companies that provided such service where we live so I was the translator. He knew some English, but I translated her (the interviewers) English into "our" English and that in itself seemed to be proof enough for the interviewer that we were legit!

Edited April 30, 2010 by ErikaAndHamit

[thongd4me 69]

We didn't have any translators who spoke Turkish that we knew, nor of any companies that provided such service where we live so I was the translator. He knew some English, but I translated her (the interviewers) English into "our" English and that in itself seemed to be proof enough for the interviewer that we were legit!

My wife didn't need a translator for her K-1 interview and there's no way she would need one for the

AOS interview. However she did feel a little intimidated when thrust into an atmosphere where most

were native speakers of English and she was in the minority. Back in Thailand her English was the

best of all teachers in the school. That didn't mean she could speak like a native.

However, when she had an interview with one of her doctors that I attended, he seemed to think that

as a new immigrant he better get a Thai translator on the horn. As the discussion progressed, it became

evident that there was not the best communication between the doctor (who was American born Chinese)

and the translator as the Thai translator often confused the medical terms he was using. There were times

when only I could explain accurately (Thai medical terms excluded) what was going on because we have

"our" English that she can understand better than anything else.