Possible Red Flag

[crea78 0]

Sayha or bust gave me some very interesting tips to get my fiancee well prepared for the interview!! Thanks again Doug, if you have anything you would like to share about your experiences, please PM me and I would love to read it! With me sending my fiancee a bad copy of the DS-230 form (filled out the spousal section on a K1 -- she has never been married) plus this thread, I have been a little worried about the whole ordeal. I am sure things will turn out OK and pray for the best.

[jac_chappin 24]

Op - I wrote a thorough review of the experience my wife and I had. it wa a pleasant one and the info might help you. Make sure you help your fiancée by taking paperwork up to window so CO knows you are there. Heck, the might ask you if you woul like to partake. It would beneficial if you fiancée learned more English so interpreter can't do any damage.

Some can be mean and nasty.

Best wishes!

[SuperDuper! 230]

Since the interview for my fiancee will be coming up within 2 months time, I am starting to wonder if she will pass the interview with very little verbal English communication. She doesn't have anyone in her hometown (except a 15 year old) down the street she can communicate with + when I try to talk to her on the phone, she gets very frustrated and talks so low I can barely understand what she is trying to say. I know English is a difficult language to learn for a foreigner, and with all the bills I've had recently, it has been hard sending her to a better school to improve her verbal skills.

We do communicate via email, texts, and online chat (she has very good writing skills) but will her not knowing much English at all signal a Red Flag and cause her to be rejected at the interview process? I have all the evidence she needs (money orders, photos, texts, online chats, etc) and she has a list of interview questions to study before she goes in, but all of that means nothing if the CO feels she isn't prepared to move to the USA. I like to know what everyone's take is on this and what are the possible outcomes for our situation when it does come time for the interview process.

Hello OP. Can you answer this one question?

How did you meet this girl?

And,

did you understand that the consulate will look closely at how effective your communication is with her while determining to grant her a visa?

If there is not good communication btwn the marriage couple, then their chance at a successful marriage is diminished.

It doesn't matter how nice of a grand damn party you have......

Wishing you nothing but the best of luck!

Peace.

[tuandanh 3]

I was interviewed along my wife during the interview. They have an interpreter even though my lady did it in English. They do want to see common language between you too. The chat logs will help. Dont worry about that so much.

my thoughts for you. Find a school for her to take some English classes. Or a tutor. Or buy that software for her. This is more for you than just passing the visa interview. Classes in Vietnam for English can be very cheap. I'm sure you guys will want to communicate better and she will speaking it all the time, better cough the dough now, you'll both be glad you did.

[Hicham♥Sara 15]

Somehow I just happened to stumble on this thread and I am a little bit curious, because I am learning a 2nd language ( arabic), and as I learn to write it, I also am reading it, and learning to speak I am not sure I understand how one can write in English very well but not be able to talk on the phone or in person on even remotely the same level? To me this is a huge Red Flag for the CO, and your gut is telling you the same since you asked for it. How do you guys work out your future plans? Is she using a translating system to write to you? I really am just confused and wonder how that all works really for any couple with such big language barriers. Just being in Morocco and trying to talk to those around me with my small amount of Arabic was hard enough asking for a glass of water.. I am lucky that Hicham speaks English well and was able to translate things between his family and I. But if he and I had such a language barrier I just don't know how we would genuinely hash out some of the

major topics we discuss as a couple. I am just trying to get a better understanding of this problem and how couples like you deal with that

Sarasusan

[AmyWrites 593]

Somehow I just happened to stumble on this thread and I am a little bit curious, because I am learning a 2nd language ( arabic), and as I learn to write it, I also am reading it, and learning to speak I am not sure I understand how one can write in English very well but not be able to talk on the phone or in person on even remotely the same level? To me this is a huge Red Flag for the CO, and your gut is telling you the same since you asked for it. How do you guys work out your future plans? Is she using a translating system to write to you? I really am just confused and wonder how that all works really for any couple with such big language barriers. Just being in Morocco and trying to talk to those around me with my small amount of Arabic was hard enough asking for a glass of water.. I am lucky that Hicham speaks English well and was able to translate things between his family and I. But if he and I had such a language barrier I just don't know how we would genuinely hash out some of the

major topics we discuss as a couple. I am just trying to get a better understanding of this problem and how couples like you deal with that

Sarasusan

It's not that unheard of. People learn languages on different levels... my writing/reading Russian is very good, but speaking is much more limited. Some people are opposite.

She will have a translator. I wouldn't worry too much if I were the OP.

[quann 26]

i wouldn't worry too much...but there should at least be a basic understanding of the language somewhere between the vn beneficiary and white petitioner to make the relationship work.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

My wife was tutored in English for more than a year, but her English was still practically non-existent by the time the interview came up. Seriously, a typical American 3-year old could probably speak English better than she could. Our remote communications were very good, but in-person communications were much more difficult. I carried a Kim Tu Dien in my pocket for quick translations, and learned a smidgeon of very basic Vietnamese, but it was still difficult. Anything I said was usually poorly spoken fragments of sentences. My wife usually understood me, but everyone else looked at me like I was speaking Latin. On one trip her cousin came to pick us up at the airport in Saigon, and it took me five minutes to explain to him that our luggage would be coming in on the next flight at 12:00, and that we should just wait in the airport restaurant until then. All I could remember was "va li" and "muoi hai gio" and "nha hang". I had to use a lot of hand gestures and pointing at stuff before he finally understood me.

In retrospect, I'm kind of glad that they didn't allow petitioners to attend the interviews back then. The CO would have laughed at my bad Vietnamese and also at my wife's bad English, and we would probably have been denied for lack of a common language. Instead, he asked my wife if she spoke English, and she said "Yes, but for interview please Vietnamese". Three more questions and she was approved.

My wife and step-daughter are now doing much better in English. My step-daughter just passed her GED English composition test, and she's taking advanced ESL at the community college. My wife is still in intermediate ESL. My step-son is a good kid, but needs a kick in the tail. He prefers to spend his days online singing karaoke with his VN girlfriend.

[crea78 0]

I admit the relationship is difficult when only my fiancee can write but has a very time speaking. She has been going to an English tutor 2-3x a week for the past year and a half, but has no one to talk to in her hometown who speaks language. I know she is trying her best to speak the language, but because she is shy in a sense, it is hard to hear what she is trying to say to me because it will be said in a soft spoken voice.

We definitely have a long ways to go (I admit that), but we both have to work hard to overcome that barrier.

[crea78 0]

Hello OP. Can you answer this one question?

How did you meet this girl?

And,

did you understand that the consulate will look closely at how effective your communication is with her while determining to grant her a visa?

If there is not good communication btwn the marriage couple, then their chance at a successful marriage is diminished.

It doesn't matter how nice of a grand damn party you have......

Wishing you nothing but the best of luck!

Peace.

Unlike most of the ppl on here who met online through a dating or penpal service, I was introduced to my fiancee by her uncle who lives in my hometown. I know some will say it was an arranged meeting (I agree to an extent), but as soon as I got to know my fiancee better throughout the following months, I knew this relationship was real and our feelings towards one another would only get stronger. I admit our communication has been a little rocky from time to time because we have been both busy in our personal lives (which we definitely need to work on). I could say more but I'll just leave it at that...

[WeatherEmperor 21]

crea78,

Believe me when I tell you this. You have nothing to worry about. Some people will say things that will do nothing but add unnecessary stress to you. Most of our fiance's (mine included) speak limited English however communicated very well online through IM...because typing is a lot easier. Anyways, just trust me when I tell you this. Don't listen to people telling you English this...English that. You and your fiance are just fine. Trust me. You guys are fine. What you should be doing now is getting your documents ready for the interview. If you have any questions, please pose them. Good luck!

Edited February 14, 2012 by WeatherEmperor

[tcTTct 37]

Just remember that many of these English tutors in Vietnam are not very good English speakers to begin with so you may be wasting your time and money with them.

[meadowzephyr 26]

I highly recommend Pimsleur over Rosetta Stone for learning a foreign language. I've used it for Arabic and had native Arabic speakers swear my parents are from Sudan. Get the highest level available in the target language.

[quann 26]

Unlike most of the ppl on here who met online through a dating or penpal service, I was introduced to my fiancee by her uncle who lives in my hometown.

i've always wondered how a vn girl meet an american guy also. that could be a whole new thread how you met your vn beneficiary (most viet petitioner would say pre-arranged and about 35k usd. i kid )

[crea78 0]

crea78,What you should be doing now is getting your documents ready for the interview. If you have any questions, please pose them. Good luck!

I have already sent my fiancee the K1 Visa package I made of copy of + evidence that I collected afterwards as well by FedEx. Never knew sending 3 lbs to VN could cost so much!! She received the pkg early last week. I also completed my I-134 form, just got my tax transcript in the mail, employer letter notarized, letter of intent, 10 year residency + chronological timeline (need to get both notarized) and I should be all good.