Hornswoggled

I'll be posting our experiences on this topic in the coming weeks . . . Think I want to wait for everything to complete first however.

Had my Thai stepdaughter recently interview for Naturalization with an N-648 filing. She arrived in the States almost 6 years ago with her mother, on K1/K2 visas, and is now an adult. Shortly after she arrived she and her mother started attending ESL classes. After a period there, a teacher observed that she was not picking up English like most students do. She suspected a learning disability and gave us a referral to a state vocational agency that could do testing and provide job assistance if needed. Testing was farmed out to a psychiatrist. It was determined that my daughter had a previously undiagnosed intellectual disability. This disability was impacting her ability to remember certain things, conduct logical problem solving efficiently, and learn and retain English. She has a very basic ability with some English, but is not conversational. This disability also affects her ability to study things like topics for the civics test (in English) and retain and understand them. This testing was done several years ago. When time came to prepare for the N-400 application and the N-648 certification for medical disability exemption (early 2024), I contacted the same psychiatrist and explained what we needed, and presented a copy of the blank N-648 form for her to review. I also had looked at some YouTube videos on this subject (search term N-648). There are some law firms out there that want upwards of $6,000 to handle a case like this. And then there are some that outline the process on YouTube and tell what is needed for the N-648 to have a feeling of professionalism, credibility, and legitimacy. I specifically recall a video by attorney Ricky Malik as being helpful. I advised our psychiatrist of this video to review if she needed some additional guidance. She felt our daughter legitimately qualified for the exemption, but had little or no experience in filling out the N-648 form, so his guidance was helpful to the Doctor. Because several years had elapsed since the original diagnosis, we scheduled a "refresh" follow-up visit with the Doctor. Following that, the Doctor prepared the N-648. Some of the questions don't really provide enough space to be fully and completely answered in the Doctor's opinion, so she did the best she could with more concise answers on the form, along with a full report also submitted with the N-648 that elaborated more completely. The forms were submitted, and my daughter had an interview earlier in the fall. Apparently the N-648 was accepted as submitted. The interview would be conducted, mainly confirming various answers provided on the N-400 form submitted. For that, you need an interpreter. The first interpreter we used (a family friend) was inadequate. USCIS ended the interview early, and told us it would be rescheduled and that we should get a better interpreter. I will differ with the opinion of Akpman above about USCIS having to provide an interpreter on the day of interview if you don't bring one acceptable yourself. I know I read that somewhere too, but realistically something like that might happen with a common language like Spanish. But with a language more obscure like Thai, doubtful. I had a HUGE amount of trouble getting an interpreter located for the next interview. We got notice a month later with a new interview date; in total 2½ months after the first interview. With about six weeks notice before the second interview, I got on it right away. I contacted numerous services listed online for the area. Most never answered their phones, nor replied to messages. One told me they could do it, only to find out two weeks later when I was pressing them for contact information with the interpreter (in order to prepare for the interview) that they admitted they didn't have anyone near our interview city. I was unable to find any Thai interpreters through the state court system; I did find one through a University Language department, but that option had substantial travel costs with it, pushing total charges up over $1000. I contacted our one and only Thai restaurant locally. At first the owner volunteered to interpret herself. But after providing her with a copy of the N-400 form and advising on areas that would likely be covered, she felt inadequate for the job. She put me in touch with eight Thai people she knew. I messaged all. Four responded; three could not do it. One said they'd try, but looked over the material and felt incapable to do it. I was now out of options. One week before the interview, I told my wife that in spite of her being family, she would have to interpret at the interview. Two days later, a miracle happened. We were put in touch with a local university student. Surprisingly, he was Caucasian. He had grown up in Thailand, the son of Christian missionaries. He left at age 13. He missed Thailand greatly, and also missed Thai food. We had him over for a few practice sessions and my wife cooked him a few authentic Thai meals. Don't underestimate the interpretation phase. The interpreter and the applicant need to be prepared prior to the interview. I had the good fortune to sit in on my wife's N-400 interview a few years ago, invited back because they first had to clear her Removal of Conditions case (for which I was needed for that interview.) The same examiner just handled that first, then proceeded to the N-400 next, saying I could stay but that I could not answer or gesture answers in any way to my wife. I didn't realize it at the time, but sitting in on that N-400 portion of the interview was invaluable in preparing my daughter and her interpreter for their interview.) USCIS is likely to verify various items from the N-400 form in the interview, including random questions from Part 9 (all those Yes/No questions) and the Oath of Allegiance. A lot of those questions and the Oath have uncommon vocabulary, so the interpreter needs to be familiar and prepared by knowing that vocabulary in English, and how to say it in the language they're translating into. Likewise for the applicant. They need to be familiar ahead of time with the vocabulary used in their native language so they can understand the questions. On the day of the interview, when my daughter was called I went with her and the interpreter and made introductions with the examiner; I explained that the interpreter was there because she had an N-648 filed with the N-400. (Don't make the assumption the examiner already knows about the N-648. At the first interview, the examiner's initial reaction was that interpreters weren't allowed. Obviously, they weren't familiar enough with our case to know it had an N-648 filed with it.) First thing the examiner asked after I made introductions and becoming aware the interview would be interpreted was to ask if he (the interpreter) was in any way a family member. I'm so glad we didn't have to use my wife to interpret! The three of them disappeared back to the interview area. Apparently, our N-648 was completed well enough that there wasn't any scrutiny of it during the interview. They all came out around 30-45 minutes later, my daughter and our interpreter with smiles on their faces. I met them and in closing explained to the examiner the difficulty I'd had in securing an interpreter. I asked if there were any other options USCIS had if I had not been able to provide our "miracle" interpreter. They really didn't have anybody they could call on. The examiner thought they did, at first, but when she tried to provide contacts, all she could come up with was a way for deaf applicants to get a sign language interpreter. We now await a swearing-in ceremony to be scheduled . . .

Just to add on here, this happened to us too, just last month. Wife and daughter came here on K1/K2 visas. Got the email on Informed Delivery with images of the wife's and daughter's letters. But only the wife's delivered. They were 48 month extension letters. In the process now of trying to get the daugter's letter replaced.