Unlike immigration court proceedings, USCIS does not provide you with an interpreter for your immigration interview; therefore, you must find your own interpreter for the interview.
Interpreting by telephone is efficient when the sole purpose of the participants is to gather simple facts and to have some questions answered with the assistance of an interpreter. This style of interpreting is acceptable in situations involving an exchange of raw data, getting facts, communicating ideas and sending or receiving specific information. This is the case with immigration interviews.
If you have hired a telephonic interpreter to help with the interview, please keep the following points in mind:
Speak Loud And Clear
This tip is also true if you intend to work with an on-site interpreter, but is even more important when working with a telephonic interpreter. If you don’t speak loud enough or you nervously mumble through sentences, the interpreter may not be able to hear you and the situation could get uncomfortable real quick. Remember: you are pleading your case, speak with confidence.
Don’t Shuffle Papers Or Make Extraneous Sound When Speaking
This tip is similar to the last one, in that you want your interpreter to hear you clearly. Even though you are understandably nervous, fidgeting with your documents or making other sounds could make it difficult to be heard.
Don’t Talk Over People Who Are Speaking
Remember: your interpreter can only translate for one person at a time. Over the phone, it will be impossible for the interpreter to understand what is being said if people talk over each other. This could result in a statement by the applicant going unheard by the immigration officer. As you can imagine, this could potentially have drastic consequences.
Be Conscious Of Your Speech Patterns
Consider how your speech patterns may impact the interpretation during the interview. Do you speak quickly or softly? Do you change thoughts mid-sentence or mumble? Pay attention to the circumstances under which your speech patterns change and how they change. Once you have figured out which speech patterns may impede effective interpretation, work to avoid these patterns for your interview.
iTi | Over the Phone Interpreting For Immigration Interviews
When you work with an interpreter over the phone, you essentially have a 3-way conference call (the interpreter, you and the party you’re calling). iTi Over the Phone Interpreting was developed as a quick, confidential and convenient way to conquer language barriers. With industry-leading connect times, an interpreter in any language is only 15 seconds away!
Comments are closed here.