Interview Details

[david_dawei]

I am convinced that GUZ had selected our case for close scrutiny and even more sure that Lulu's answers effectively changed us from probable blue to Passing. First indication was the VO she got assigned to is already known among 001 as the VO to avoid. Another issue was the VO did not ask for her passport at the start; if she plans to deny someone then they don't need the passport. Other issues include the length of the interview, the questions, and how the VO proclaimed her final comment ("You proved your case").

 

I told Lulu if the questions go longer than about 6 questions, then she can expect they are searching for an issue with us; So to give deeper details for some questions; I had the benefit of seeing a few NOIRs and could see exactly what VOs were using as justification to deny. There was a simple pattern to all of them and it revealed that the VOs believed the beneficiary did not know enough detail about the petitioner or his life. The answers were either inconsistent, unclear, or unavailable.

 

Lulu knows my life in extreme detail down to my grandchildren. She has even talked to them on QQ and exchanges emails with my mom. She knows details of my past marriages and my work. I prepared her with about 20 questions from these various areas; she already knew the answers she just had to get used to being questioned in english. In the end, she and Meng got about 30 questions which appear to me to be truly 'fishing' for a reason to deny.

 

Our strategy was simple: Be natural, honest and answer whatever they ask. I only added in the idea to NOT say 'I don't know' or 'I don't have that'; always tell them what you know or have. Let the VO ask more questions if they want. Lulu truly wanted a serious and thorough VO; she felt that if anyone was willing to let her talk then they will know our case is good. She got what she wanted on both counts. Despite the warnings that are circulating on 001 about this VO, Lulu says she is professional, thorough, and serious. She cannot but respect such a person since in the end such a person judges fairly and consistently.

 

Here I will share what she can remember of the Interview questions.

Edited October 31, 2011 by david_dawei (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

 

LL & MM: Hello

VO: Hello

 

{LL places all our papers which are in clear plastic folders up near the window. She puts the folder with my passport and EOR Letter on top so the VO can see my passport and the notary paper.}

 

LL: My husband prepared a letter for you.

VO: Ok (but keeps working among her papers and computer; so the VO did NOT ask it)

 

Interview Starts in Chinese

 

VO: You ever go to US ?

LL: No

 

VO: (To daughter, Meng): You?

MM: No

 

VO: You speak English?

LL: Yes

 

Interview proceeded in English

 

VO: Did you bring pictures?

LL: Yes, I have 3 books.

 

{VO just continues questions without asking to look at the pictures. If the VO had asked for the pictures then this would be the typical short interview style… but there are a few indications that she had not planned a short interview}

 

 

VO: Where does your husband live?

LL: Orlando, FL

 

VO: Are you CCP?

LL: Never

 

VO: How did you meet?

LL: On QQ

 

VO: Why you go there?

LL: QQ is popular in China. It is natural to use it to chat,

 

VO: Why did you want to find him (American)?

LL: I did not know he is American. His QQ name is Chinese and that time is really middle of the night in US. So I cannot think that is an American man.

 

{VO confers with VO at next window for about a minute}

 

{ Lulu gave this detail because it agrees with what I write in my EOR; It also agrees to the QQ printout we have of our first conversation showing the date/time; And we heard of another lady was given a white slip for not knowing the time difference between US and China, despite her claims she talked almost daily with her fiancée. So Lulu added in this point to show she knows the time difference is essentially day and night}

 

VO: You traveled to Australia ?

LL: What?

VO: You traveled to Australia?

 

{At the repeated question, Meng says softly to Lulu: ‘Australia’ in Chinese so Lulu can understand. Lulu quickly countered with a corrective answer. This seemed to be a question to see how Lulu would react and respond for there was no reason to believe she had ever been to Australia}.

 

LL: No. I went to Korea

 

 

VO: What is your husband’s job?

LL: Traffic work for the government

 

VO: He lives in Washington, D.C?

 

{Lulu felt that since the VO had already asked this question earlier it was meant to trip her up, like the Australia question; both were questions stated incorrectly which Lulu would have to answer in a corrective way. Lulu gave more detail to show the VO show knew of my upbringing.}

 

{I have another thought. Since Lulu said that I am in traffic work for the government, it is logical to think I would work in Washington D.C since that is the headquarters for the Department of Transportation. So, I suspect the VO thought that maybe Lulu does not really know where I live. But Lulu not just corrected her but even showed that she knew I was actually born there although I grew up in Maryland. I personally think this was a critical answer to get clear to the VO and Lulu did it}

 

LL: No. He was born in Washington DC. He grew up in Maryland and now lives in Orlando…

VO: OK (Lulu tries to say more but VO stops her)

 

 

VO: What is your job?

LL: Worker

VO: What?

LL: Worker in heating company

VO: What type of worker?

 

{Lulu is not sure what the VO is fishing for with this line of questioning so she just answers in very basic way. But then she suddenly remembers that at document turn-in she was asked her job and had only said ‘Clerk’. ‘Clerk’ translates differently than ‘Worker’ and Lulu suspects the VO is looking at notes from document turn-in. So Lulu now answers to agree with the day before}

 

LL: I am a clerk at the heating company

VO: OK

 

VO: How many times did your husband marry before?

LL: Two times

 

VO: Is his first wife American [descent]?

 

{This question is really quite confusing and surprising to ask since it could be understood two ways: What is her citizenship or what is her ethnic background. Lulu decided to just answer concerning her family background. My first wife was an American citizen by birth but both of her parents are of German descent. I didn’t remember talking about this with Lulu but she says we did. In my EOR that went to USCIS, I gave my first wife’s maiden name, which is easy to see it is German. Lulu decided to go with an answer that showed her knowledge of my first wife}

 

LL: No. I believe she is German descent.

 

 

VO: Why did they divorce?

LL: She was with another man at that time.

 

 

VO: What do you know about his second wife?

 

{Lulu now feels she answered the previous question the right way since some detail is being asked of my second wife.

 

LL: She is Chinese. Her name is XX…

VO: OK (tries to say more but VO stops her with “OK”)

 

 

VO: Why did they divorce?

 

(LL did not want to answer exactly in the same way although it would of been the short and simple answer. She decided to show she knew the details of it)

 

LL: My husband found a letter she had written concerning another man and realized she was with someone else...

 

VO: OK (tries to say more but VO stops her with “OK”)

 

 

VO: Does he have any children?

LL: Yes. 1 daughter and 1 son.

 

VO: When did you marry?

LL: {Gives date}

 

VO: Why do you love your husband?

LL: He cares for me, my daughter, even all my family. How to describe such feelings in a few words…

VO: Ok

 

{Feeling questions are good ‘fishing’ questions. I have seen this frequently enough to feel that the VO just wants to see their face and how they respond}

 

To Meng in English

 

{We coached Meng to just answer naturally and truthfully. Not to think too long on any answer in English. If the answer was more detailed but in her head then just answer in Chinese since she can easily get her feeling across to the VO. The first three questions Meng answers in English}

 

VO: What is your age?

MM: 18

 

VO: Can you speak English?

MM: Yes

 

VO: Are you still a student?

MM: Yes. This is my last year in high school

 

VO: Why do you like your mom’s husband?

MM: (answers in Chinese) He buys many things for me, even my mom doesn’t buy.

 

{VO repeats the simplicity of her words “mai hen duo dong xi” (buy many things) and laughs and smiles at Meng. Lulu laughs too. Lulu feels the VO liked the answer as typical of a child talking in simple, honest words }

 

VO: How often do you talk to your father?

 

(Meng did not understand the meaning of the question. Meng’s English is good in read and writing but struggles with listening to someone talk English. Lulu said this VO’s Chinese was better than her English although she was evidently from the middle east. Lulu decided NOT to ‘act’ as a translator and so stayed out of situation and tried to let Meng work through this. Lulu said she only looked at the VO and then Meng)

 

VO Changes to Chinese

 

VO: How often do you talk to your father?

 

Meng: (answers in Chinese) I have not talked to him for quite a while… (Meng explains that before, almost a year ago, she saw him once a month to get money from him; now it goes directly to her bank).

 

{Here, Meng followed her Mom’s idea to give detail when it seemed natural to do so. But the key to this was that just a minute prior to being called to the VO window, Lulu had suddenly felt a need to do a last minute ‘test’ of Meng. She asked Meng, “What will you say if the VO asks about your dad?” Meng answered , “I don’t know”. Lulu told her the exact idea that I said told her the night before: Do not answer “I don’t know or I am not sure”; Tell the VO what you do know !! Then Lulu asked her again and Meng answered to Lulu. At that very moment, their number was called to go to the VO Window}

 

 

VO To Lulu:

 

VO: Do you have pictures?

LL: Yes. Here

 

{Lulu hands VO 1 of 3 small books we prepared; Each book has about 12-15 pictures. We went back and forth on how to do the 3 books; whether by trip order or by a theme. We brought about 20 pictures and while in GZ we were advised to add about 12-15 more, so we did do that. At first we did the pictures in Trip order but the night before I decided to change it to theme: First 10 pictures were just me and Lulu across all the trips; Then pictures with friends and family. The Third book began with pictures of me with Meng and more family or friends. I am a big believer in showing many varying pictures, not that it has to be so many pictures. Some talk of bring 100-200 which is crazy, IMO. The VO only takes a few seconds normally to look at pictures. I will admit that I agreed to double the pictures while in GZ and that was clearly good advice. Also, it seems that the VOs do not like two kinds of pictures: Too formal since they are just staged and not spontaneous, and too many indoor pictures. For that reason, we included many outdoor pictures of various cities we went to.

 

That night I identified to Lulu that we did NOT have any pictures of Meng at the wedding party dinner. This was a bad oversight since we actually did have one but we did not print it. We both just looked at each other hoping that this would not get picked up by the VO }

 

VO: DO you have pictures with Friends? (VO looks at each picture very slowly)

 

VO: Ok, I see some now. Do you have pictures with Family? (Looks at second book)

 

VO: Ok. I see…

 

VO: Why is your daughter not in the wedding party pictures. Do you have pictures of her at the wedding party?

 

{And there it was; The VO found the only weakness in our pictures and it is really somewhat critical since part of the visa evidences for a child is to establish the relationship to the petitioner, not just to the parent; If you want to ‘fish’ for an excuse to deny, go after the child angle with questions and with request for pictures… and at this late stage in the interview the VO seems to have cornered Lulu with a question for which the proper answer would appear to be “We didn’t being any or we don’t have any on hand, etc”.

 

Lulu recalled the advise I said the night before and which she lectured Meng about: Tell the VO what you do know (or what you do have). Lulu quickly showed the third book.

 

LL: Here are pictures of Meng (hands her third picture set).

VO: Ok, I see her.

 

{In fact, the third picture book did NOT have any pictures of Meng at the wedding party but it did have many pictures of me and Meng together. I think the VO simply forget the line of her questioning about the wedding party and/or was satisfied when she saw many pictures of Meng}

 

 

VO: How many times did your husband come to China?

LL: Eight times.

 

{The 8 trip dates were on the front cover of the first picture book; on the back of each picture was the trip number and who is in the picture.}

 

LL: My husband prepared a letter for you. Have you looked at it?

 

VO: (VO takes out EOR letter from plastic folder and skims it quickly. Then takes out my passport and walks away for about 3 minutes to talk with another VO).

 

VO: (asks in a kind of disbelief): Why is your husband’s passport this way?

 

(The VO bends it both directions to show that my passport is very flimsy and bends easily; not stiff like she apparently expected. This is really an odd question since who cares why my passport is like that and who can really give a proper answer to another person’s passport being like that? I am really not sure if this was the VOs last attempt to find some inconsistency or uncertainty in Lulu. Instead, Lulu describes in detail my frequent travel to china and how I even added pages and that I mentioned needing a new passport).

 

LL: My husband has traveled many times to China so he uses the passport often. He had to have some papers added but he said he needs to get a new passport next time…

 

VO: Ok. {VO cuts off Lulu again}.

VO: Do you have the EMS Slips?

LL: Yes, here

 

VO: (Prepares the EMS Slip and hands it to Lulu):

 

VO: You proved your case. (says with a big smile)

LL: Thank you.

Edited November 9, 2011 by david_dawei (see edit history)

[dan1984]

Excellent write-up, and filed away for future reference.

 

Congrats once again to you and your family!

[Joanne]

I think Lulu's responses/answers are impeccable.

[knloregon]

Excellent detail David, for what certainly was one of those 'close-call' interviews. Ours was as well, many years ago, but she was so shell-shocked at the end, that much detail was lost.

 

IMHO, You know you're in trouble if the VO starts consulting with other VOs during the interview, and if the photo album comes into serious play at end.

 

And here's a point you made well worth repeating: Meng was under represented in one of the photo albums, and the VO picked up on that.

 

I've been to the (old) GZ consulate for permanent exit visas three times in my life--- (twice for adoption, once for SO)--- and I know for a fact that the VO's still, today, switch off from adoption to K-1 and K-3 ---to some extent--- and every other visa under the sun.

 

EVERY Candle applicant should remember this: SD VO's DON'T SHARE THE SOMETIMES CHINESE PROCLIVITY TO MINIMIZE CHILDREN IN RELATIONSHIPS! In fact, because they see the massive (and sometimes sad conditions) out-flow of orphans to America, on a daily basis, they are probably sensitized to looking for legitimate, loving relationships of applicants with children ----and if they don't see it among the Chinese in front of them---may react negatively on the application.

 

Solution is pretty simple. Love your children, (step-children) and be prepared to document that love.

[david_dawei]

Lulu remembered two more questions about why each of my previous marriages ended with divorce. So I added in above.

 

@ knloregon: Yes, this is probably not discussed as much as it should be. On the one hand, children should be an unquestioned slam-dunk; on the other hand, if a VO wants to go after an issue easily overlooked and stay within their purview... the children are actually easy 'game'.

 

I actually asked Lulu what she would want to do if in the crazy outcome that Meng was approved but she (lulu) was not ?! She then talked to Meng and Meng said to her mom, "We'll wait for you..."

 

While I did not really believe this would happen, I did read with careful attention the P4 letter saying that the step-father's relationship must be proved; I think that is more than reasonable and should not be overlooked in any petition/visa application.

 

As fate would have it, we did not have to worry about all the above due to some good planning, identifying where we were weak, and quick thinking at the interview.

 

I will share that Lulu has been reading 001 almost daily since her interview since she is trying to process the entire experience and outcome, and wants to see who else got this VO. We have read a number of very interesting cases and I wish they were on CFL for all to see.

 

One night Lulu is on the computer reading and looks at me like I am a ghost... I ask her "what's up"? She says: "A child was approved but not the mother..."...

Edited November 9, 2011 by david_dawei (see edit history)