Importance of the Beneficiary's English skills in the interview.

[Miss Missy 0]

How important is the Beneficiary's English skills in the F1 Visa Approval Process? Are the questions in the interview asked in the Beneficiary's native language or English. Or is there a choice? If there is a choice and the beneficiary chooses their own native language, does this sway the decision?

[Up in the Sky 2]

My wife hasn't had her interview yet, but I guess, guess that if you both have common language use that during the interview. My wife native language is Mandarin, mine is English, but we communicate with English so I advise her to take the interview in English-and if she needs to clarify a question to ask in Mandarin and answer in English. I guess the Interviewer want to know if you two can speak and carry a conversation in a common language with your wife/husband/fiance, so for me and my wife it will be doing it in English.

But if you speak her native language, which I assume you do then let her speak in her native language, if not practice and practice on her interview in English.

Just my opinion, hopefully someone who has a better input from experience of the interview of approval or denial can give you the answer you want.

It's one of those bona fi relationship subject...

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

PP is correct; your fiancee's English language skills don't matter, what matters is that you two can show how you communicate, be that in English, her language, or a third, common language.

[Miss Missy 0]

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback. Actually I am the Fiancee in this case. The woman. LOL

My Fiance (man) is the Beneficiary in the case.

I have been learning his language for some years now, but it is slow going for me. We can communicate, and when we get stuck on a misunderstanding we use translator. He is slowly learning english when he has time.

But I speak more of his language than he does english.

This is for F1-Visa so this first interview will be just him at his embassy. Not both of us yet.

M-

[CourtAndGrey 0]

Something to keep in mind:

In the early stages, interviews taking place in the beneficiary's country can go either way. Usually the IO will ask which language you would like to have the interview in. Other VJ'ers have posted their advice on how to handle that one.

Later on, remember that your interviews will be happening in the US. Right after the wedding, the beneficiary will be filing for AOS. That does require another in person interview - and you can count on that one being in english. In our case, our IO was not accommodating to the fact that my husband was still learning english. He had a couple very tricky questions right off the bat ("Are you a spy?" and "How many crimes have you committed that you've gotten away with?") and my already nervous husband was thrown for a loop!

You guys have some time to prepare for that round, just something to keep in the back of your mind.

[Miss Missy 0]

Great advice. I really appreciate you telling me what is ahead as well. He is studying now, so I will hope for the best, if we get through this first hurdle. I will definitely be able to help him more with his English, once we are married and living together.

[pushbrk 13,176]

Something to keep in mind:

In the early stages, interviews taking place in the beneficiary's country can go either way. Usually the IO will ask which language you would like to have the interview in. Other VJ'ers have posted their advice on how to handle that one.

Later on, remember that your interviews will be happening in the US. Right after the wedding, the beneficiary will be filing for AOS. That does require another in person interview - and you can count on that one being in english. In our case, our IO was not accommodating to the fact that my husband was still learning english. He had a couple very tricky questions right off the bat ("Are you a spy?" and "How many crimes have you committed that you've gotten away with?") and my already nervous husband was thrown for a loop!

You guys have some time to prepare for that round, just something to keep in the back of your mind.

Translators are allowed in adjustment of status interviews but you take your own with you. In our case, my wife, her daughter and I were all together, so I emailed ahead and asked if our daughter could also translate. If the answer had been no, we would have taken a bilingual friend with us.

[baron555 934]

How important is the Beneficiary's English skills in the F1 Visa Approval Process? Are the questions in the interview asked in the Beneficiary's native language or English. Or is there a choice? If there is a choice and the beneficiary chooses their own native language, does this sway the decision?

It depends on the CO and their mood that day. Some will ask the beneficiary what language you and the petitioner speak to each other in? Then the CO will switch to that language; my wife's CO did just that and wouldn't change back even after asked a couple of times.

Makes sense, right. If you two speak all in English, then why can't they have the interview in English.

Or, if you only speak in the native language, then that language would be the best one to conduct the interview in.

The reason behind this is to vet out the visa frauds where the two do not really converse very much.