INTERVIEW PROCEDURES

                                                                                     INTERVIEW PROCEDURES

Greet the interviewee in a polite, dignified manner to put him or her at ease.

Identify yourself, giving your name and title.

Greet him or her (and others) pleasantly;

Introduce himself or herself by name and explain the officer’s role;

Explain the process of the interview to the interviewee so he or she will know what to expect during the interview;

Avoid speech that appears to be evaluative or that indicates that the officer thinks he or she knows the answer to the question;

Be patient with the interviewee; and

Keep language as simple as possible

Argue in opposition to the applicant or petitioner’s claim (if the officer engages in argument, he or she has lost control of the interview);

Question the applicant in a hostile or abusive manner;

Take sides in the applicant or petitioner’s claim;

Attempt to be overly friendly with the interviewee; or

Allow personal biases to influence him or her during the interview, either in favor of or against the interviewee.

Begin the interview with an explanation in non-technical terms of the purpose of the interview.

Obtain identification from all parties to the interview, including interpreters, attorneys, and/or other representatives, unless identity has been previously established.

Administer the following oath: "Do you solemnly swear (or affirm) that the statements you are about to make will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

The oath or affirmation should always be administered in such a manner as to impress upon the person being interviewed the solemnity of the occasion and the importance of the testimony that he is about to give. The adjudicator and the person(s) being interviewed should stand and raise their right hands during the administration of the oath or affirmation. The fact that the interview is being conducted under oath or affirmation should be noted in the transcript or in the file. If a verbatim question and answer statement is taken, the exact wording of the oath or affirmation should be included in the transcript. If such a statement is not taken, the memorandum record of the interview should show that the person being interviewed was under oath or affirmation.

An applicant or his or her attorney or representative should be permitted to present documents or other evidence that may help to clarify an issue of concern to the interviewer. When possible, such evidence should be submitted and reviewed before the interview, and when relevant, should be added to the applicant's file.

In certain other types of cases where more than one individual is to be questioned, it is generally best to question each party separately, asking each party several of the same questions in order to identify inconsistent answers. It may be necessary to recall either party for further questioning if contradictory answers are provided. In other types of interviews, an entire family group may be interviewed collectively.

In a case where there is reason to believe that a witness under oath has given or may give false testimony, it may be advisable to inform the subject that willfully giving false testimony on a material matter under oath constitutes the crime of perjury, and that a person convicted of perjury is subject to a penalty of a fine, imprisonment or both. (However, see the comment below about challenging every false statement immediately.)

Should the interviewing officer be required to leave the office for any reason during the interview, the relating file(s) should be removed to avoid unauthorized review during the officer's absence.  IV. COMPONENTS OF AN INTERVIEW

There are several components of an interview. Unless the interview is discontinued, the officer must include each of the components, which are:

1. Pre-interview preparation;

2. Introduction;

3. Oath;

4. Verification of basic biographic information;

5. Testimony;

6. Conclusion.

(d) Questioning Techniques

(1) All questions are either "closed-ended" or "open-ended."

Closed-ended questions call for specific, factual and usually brief responses (e.g., "Have you ever been arrested?").

Open-ended questions solicit views, opinions, thoughts and feelings and generally call for longer, narrative-type responses (e.g., "Tell me about any arrest you have had."). Open-ended questions are normally more useful in assessing an individual's credibility and for eliciting statements which may later be supported or contradicted.

The person(s) being interviewed should be permitted to give a full explanation of any issue involved in the case. Fairness requires consideration of all relevant evidence. In some instances, detailed questioning may be desirable in order to make it more difficult for the subject to disavow his statements at a later time or to fabricate a new story. USCIS officers are reminded that the purpose of the interview is to develop the facts, favorable as well as unfavorable, with equal fairness to the subject and to the interests of the Government, in order to properly adjudicate the application or petition.

(e) Concluding or Terminating an Interview

An adjudicator should not unnecessarily prolong an interview, but should conclude it when all necessary information has been elicited. The person(s) being interviewed(s) should be thanked for cooperating and providing information.

On some occasions it may be necessary to terminate an interview even though all essential information has not been elicited; however, termination should be avoided whenever possible. Termination may be necessary in the following situations, which are not intended to be exclusive:

The person being interviewed is unable to communicate without an interpreter, and one is not available.

An interpreter clearly has difficulty translating effectively

The officer has reasonable doubts about either the ability or impartiality of an interpreter supplied by the interviewee, and a USCIS or DHS interpreter is not immediately available.

An attorney or other representative of an applicant or petitioner insists on responding to questions or coaching the person being interviewed.

An attorney or other representative of an applicant or petitioner insists on interpreting for his or her client during an interview.

The person being interviewed refuses to respond to questions essential to the successful completion of the interview.

The conduct of the attorney or other representative has exceeded the bounds of zealous representation and interferes with the ability of the officer to conduct the interview.

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ENGLISH......(.PRONOUN)

PRONOUN

KINDS OF PRONOUNS 


 ( OPEN THESE LINK ) 


     : 
Personal...................OPEN LINK
 Demonstrative........OPEN LINK
Indefinite................OPEN LINK
 Relative...................OPEN LINK
  Reflexive.................OPEN LINK
  Intensive................OPEN LINK
 Interrogative...........OPEN LINK
 Reciprocal.............OPEN LINK


Definition

Generally (but not always) pronouns stand for (pro + noun) or refer to a noun, an individual or individuals or thing or things (the pronoun's antecedent) whose identity is made clear earlier in the text. For instance, we are bewildered by writers who claim something like

• They say that eating beef is bad for you.

They is a pronoun referring to someone, but who are they? Cows? whom do they represent? Sloppy use of pronouns is unfair.

Not all pronouns will refer to an antecedent, however.

• Everyone here earns over a thousand dollars a day.

The word "everyone" has no antecedent.

The problem of agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent and between a pronoun and its verb is treated in another section on Pronoun-Antecedent Consistency. The quizzes on pronoun usage are also listed at the end of that section.

This section will list and briefly describe the several kinds of pronouns.

KINDS OF PRONOUNS        ( OPEN THESE LINK )      : 
Personal...................OPEN LINK
 Demonstrative........OPEN LINK
Indefinite................OPEN LINK
 Relative...................OPEN LINK
  Reflexive.................OPEN LINK
  Intensive................OPEN LINK
 Interrogative...........OPEN LINK
 Reciprocal.............OPEN LINK

Personal Pronouns

Unlike English nouns, which usually do not change form except for the addition of an -s ending to create the plural or the apostrophe + s to create the possessive, personal pronouns (which stand for persons or things) change form according to their various uses within a sentence. Thus I is used as the subject of a sentence (I am happy.), me is used as an object in various ways (He hit me. He gave me a book. Do this for me.), and my is used as the possessive form (That's my car.) The same is true of the other personal pronouns: the singular you and he/she/it and the plural we, you, and they. These forms are called cases. An easily printable chart is available that shows the various Cases of the Personal Pronouns.

Personal pronouns can also be characterized or distinguished by person. First person refers to the speaker(s) or writer(s) ("I" for singular, "we" for plural). Second person refers to the person or people being spoken or written to ("you" for both singular and plural). Third person refers to the person or people being spoken or written about ("he," "she," and "it" for singular, "they" for plural). The person of a pronoun is also demonstrated in the chart Cases of the Personal Pronouns. As you will see there, each person can change form, reflecting its use within a sentence. Thus, "I" becomes "me" when used as an object ("She left me") and "my" when used in its possessive role (That's my car"); "they" becomes "them" in object form ("I like them") and "their" in possessive ("That's just their way").

When a personal pronoun is connected by a conjunction to another noun or pronoun, its case does not change. We would write "I am taking a course in Asian history"; if Talitha is also taking that course, we would write "Talitha and I are taking a course in Asian history." (Notice that Talitha gets listed before "I" does. This is one of the few ways in which English is a "polite" language.) The same is true when the object form is called for: "Professor Vendetti gave all her books to me"; if Talitha also received some books, we'd 

When a pronoun and a noun are combined (which will happen with the plural first- and second-person pronouns), choose the case of the pronoun that would be appropriate if the noun were not there.

• We students are demanding that the administration give us two hours for lunch.
• The administration has managed to put us students in a bad situation.

With the second person, we don't really have a problem because the subject form is the same as the object form, "you":

• "You students are demanding too much."
• "We expect you students to behave like adults."

Among the possessive pronoun forms, there is also what is called the nominative possessive: mine, yours, ours, theirs.

• Look at those cars. Theirs is really ugly; ours is beautiful.
• This new car is mine.
• Mine is newer than yours.

Demonstrative Pronouns

The family of demonstratives (this/that/these/those/such) can behave either as pronouns or as determiners.

As pronouns, they identify or point to nouns.

• That is incredible! (referring to something you just saw)
• I will never forget this. (referring to a recent experience)
• Such is my belief. (referring to an explanation just made)

As determiners, the demonstratives adjectivally modify a noun that follows. A sense of relative distance (in time and space) can be conveyed through the choice of these pronouns/determiners:

• These [pancakes sitting here now on my plate] are delicious.
• Those [pancakes that I had yesterday morning] were even better.
• This [book in my hand] is well written;
• that [book that I'm pointing to, over there, on the table] is trash.

A sense of emotional distance or even disdain can be conveyed with the demonstrative pronouns:

• You're going to wear these?
• This is the best you can do?

Pronouns used in this way would receive special stress in a spoken sentence.

When used as subjects, the demonstratives, in either singular or plural form, can be used to refer to objects as well as persons.

• This is my father.
• That is my book.

In other roles, however, the reference of demonstratives is non-personal. In other words, when referring to students, say, we could write "Those were loitering near the entrance during the fire drill" (as long as it is perfectly clear in context what "those" refers to). But we would not write "The principal suspended those for two days"; instead, we would have to use "those" as a determiner and write "The principal suspended those students for two days."

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns (who/whoever/which/that) relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns (The student who studies hardest usually does the best.). The word who connects or relates the subject, student, to the verb within the dependent clause (studies). Choosing correctly between which and that and between who and whom leads to what are probably the most Frequently Asked Questions about English grammar. For help with which/that, refer to the Notorious Confusables article on those words (including the hyperlink to Michael Quinion's article on this usage and the links to relevant quizzes). Generally, we use "which" to introduce clauses that are parenthetical in nature (i.e., that can be removed from the sentence without changing the essential meaning of the sentence). For that reason, a "which clause" is often set off with a comma or a pair of commas. "That clauses," on the other hand, are usually deemed indispensable for the meaning of a sentence and are not set off with commas. The pronoun which refers to things; who (and its forms) refers to people; that usually refers to things, but it can also refer to people in a general kind of way. For help with who/whom refer to the section on Consistency. We also recommend that you take the quizzes on the use of who and whom at the end of that section.

The expanded form of the relative pronouns — whoever, whomever, whatever — are known as indefinite relative pronouns. A couple of sample sentences should suffice to demonstrate why they are called "indefinite":

• The coach will select whomever he pleases.
• He seemed to say whatever came to mind.
• Whoever crosses this line first will win the race.

What is often an indefinite relative pronoun:

• She will tell you what you need to know.

Indefinite Pronouns

The indefinite pronouns (everybody/anybody/somebody/all/each/every/some/none/one) do not substitute for specific nouns but function themselves as nouns (Everyone is wondering if any is left.)

One of the chief difficulties we have with the indefinite pronouns lies in the fact that "everybody" feels as though it refers to more than one person, but it takes a singular verb. (Everybody is accounted for.) If you think of this word as meaning "every single body," the confusion usually disappears. The indefinite pronoun none can be either singular or plural, depending on its context. None is nearly always plural (meaning "not any") except when something else in the sentence makes us regard it as a singular (meaning "not one"), as in "None of the food is fresh." Some can be singular or plural depending on whether it refers to something countable or noncountable. Refer to the section on Pronoun Consistency for help on determining the number of the indefinite pronouns (and the number [singular/plural] of the verbs that accompany them). There is a separate section on the uses of the pronoun one.

There are other indefinite pronouns, words that double as Determiners:

enough, few, fewer, less, little, many, much, several, more, most, all, both, every, each, any, either, neither, none, some

• Few will be chosen; fewer will finish.
• Little is expected.

See the section on Pronoun Consistency for help in determining the number (singular/plural) characteristics of these pronouns.

Intensive Pronouns

The intensive pronouns (such as myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves) consist of a personal pronoun plus self or selves and emphasize a noun. (I myself don't know the answer.) It is possible (but rather unusual) for an intensive pronoun to precede the noun it refers to. (Myself, I don't believe a word he says.)

Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronouns (which have the same forms as the intensive pronouns) indicate that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb. (Students who cheat on this quiz are only hurting themselves. You paid yourself a million dollars? She encouraged herself to do well.) What this means is that whenever there is a reflexive pronoun in a sentence there must be a person to whom that pronoun can "reflect." In other words, the sentence "Please hand that book to myself" would be incorrect because there is no "I" in that sentence for the "myself" to reflect to (and we would use "me" instead of "myself"). A sentence such as "I gave that book to myself for Christmas" might be silly, but it would be correct.

Be alert to a tendency to use reflexive pronoun forms (ending in -self) where they are neither appropriate nor necessary. The inappropriate reflexive form has a wonderful name: the untriggered reflexive. "Myself" tends to sound weightier, more formal, than little ol' me or I, so it has a way of sneaking into sentences where it doesn't belong.

• Bob and myself I are responsible for this decision.
• These decisions will be made by myself me.
• If you have any questions, please contact myself me or Bob Jones.

When pronouns are combined, the reflexive will take either the first person

• Juanita, Carlos, and I have deceived ourselves into believing in my uncle.

or, when there is no first person, the second person:

• You and Carlos have deceived yourselves.

The indefinite pronoun (see above) one has its own reflexive form ("One must have faith in oneself."), but the other indefinite pronouns use either himself or themselves as reflexives. (There is an entire page on the pronoun one.) It is probably better to pluralize and avoid the clumsy himself or herself construction.

• No one here can blame himself or herself.
• The people here cannot blame themselves.

Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns (who/which/what) introduce questions. (What is that? Who will help me? Which do you prefer?) Which is generally used with more specific reference than what. If we're taking a quiz and I ask "Which questions give you the most trouble?", I am referring to specific questions on that quiz. If I ask "What questions give you most trouble"? I could be asking what kind of questions on that quiz (or what kind of question, generically, in general) gives you trouble. The interrogative pronouns also act as Determiners: It doesn't matter which beer you buy. He doesn't know whose car he hit. In this determiner role, they are sometimes called interrogative adjectives.

Like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns introduce noun clauses, and like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns play a subject role in the clauses they introduce:

• We know who is guilty of this crime.
• I already told the detective what I know about it.

Reciprocal Pronouns

The reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. They are convenient forms for combining ideas. If Bob gave Alicia a book for Christmas and Alicia gave Bob a book for Christmas, we can say that they gave each other books (or that they gave books to each other).

• My mother and I give each other a hard time.

If more than two people are involved (let's say a whole book club), we would say that they gave one another books. This rule (if it is one) should be applied circumspectly. It's quite possible for the exchange of books within this book club, for example, to be between individuals, making "each other" just as appropriate as "one another."

Reciprocal pronouns can also take possessive forms:

• They borrowed each other's ideas.
• The scientists in this lab often use one another's equipment.

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CONDITIONAL SENTENCES...FORM FOUR

      conditional sentences type one

example

1) If I ......................... (to study), I...............................  (to pass) the exams.

                                         answer

if i study i will pass the exams

                                                          

2) If the sun....................  (to shine), we ............................... (to walk) to the town.

3) If he............................  (to have) a temperature, he.........................  (to see) the doctor.

4) If my friends..................  (to come), I ........................ (to be) very happy.

5) If she......................  (to earn) a lot of money, she ......................... (to fly) to New York.

6) If we ............... (to travel) to London, we..........................  (to visit) the museums.

7) If you ................... (to wear) sandals in the mountains, you  .....................(to slip) on the rocks.

8) If Rita .................... (to forget) her homework, the teacher........................  (to give) her a low mark.

9) If they.......................  (to go) to the disco, they ...................... (to listen) to loud music.

10) If you....................  (to wait) a minute, I .............. (to ask) my parents.

conditional sentences type two

example

1) If I .......... (to come) home earlier, I .................. (to prepare) dinner

                              answer

If I came home earlier, I would prepare dinner.

.

2) If we  .................(to live) in Rome, Francesco ............................ (to visit) us.

3) If Tim and Tom ................. (to be) older, they ........................ (to play) in our hockey team.

4) If he ................. (to be) my friend, I .................... (to invite) him to my birthday party.

5) If Susan .............. (to study) harder, she.................  (to be) better at school.

6) If they ................ (to have) enough money, they  ....................(to buy) a new car.

7) If you  ................(to do) a paper round, you  .................(to earn) a little extra money.

8) If Michael................  (to get) more pocket money, he...............  (to ask) Doris out for dinner.

9) If we...........  (to hurry), we................  (to catch) the bus.

10) If it .......... (to rain), Nina....................  (to take) an umbrella with her.

conditional sentences type  three

example

1) If the weather ........... (to be) nice, they.............  (to play) football.

                         answer

  If the weather had been nice, they would have played football.

2) If we ................... (to go) to a good restaurant, we................... (to have) a better dinner.

3) If John.........................  (to learn) more words, he.....................  (to write) a good report.

4) If the boys........................  (to take) the bus to school, they................  (to arrive) on time.

5) If the teacher................  (to explain) the homework, I ....................... (to do) it.

6) If they ................... (to wait) for another 10 minutes, they..................  (to see) the pop star.

                              ANSWERS   

conditional sentences type one.....answers

1) If I study, I will pass the exams.

2) If the sun shines, we will walk to the town

3) If he has a temperature, he will see the doctor.

4) If my friends come, I will be very happy.

5) If she earns a lot of money, she will fly to New York.

6) If we travel to London, we will visit the museums.

7) If you wear sandals in the mountains, you will slip on the rocks.

8) If Rita forgets her homework, the teacher will give her a low mark.

9) If they go to the disco, they will listen to loud music.

10) If you wait a minute, I will ask my parents.

conditional sentences type two.....answers

1) If I came home earlier, I would prepare dinner.

2) If we lived in Rome, Francesco would visit us.

3) If Tim and Tom were older, they would play in our hockey team.

4) If he was my friend, I would invite him to my birthday party.

5) If Susan studied harder, she would be better at school.

6) If they had enough money, they would buy a new car.

7) If you did a paper round, you would earn a little extra money.

8) If Michael got more pocket money, he would ask Doris out for dinner.

9) If we hurried, we would catch the bus.

10) If it rained, Nina would take an umbrella with her.

        conditional sentences type three.....answers

1) If the weather had been nice, they would have played football.

2) If we had gone to a good restaurant, we would have had a better dinner.

3) If John had learned more words, he would have written a good report.

4) If the boys had taken the bus to school, they would have arrived on time.

5) If the teacher had explained the homework, I would have done it.

6) If they had waited for another 10 minutes, they would have seen the pop star.

ANSWERS

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DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH EXERCISE

                                                                        Reported questions  with answers - Exercise 1

Explanation: Reported questions

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

 for example:

1) Christopher: "Do you want to dance?"

Christopher asked me if I wanted to dance.

2) Betty: "When did you come?"

Betty wanted to know ………………………………………………………………………………………….

3) Mark: "Has John arrived?"

Mark asked me …………………………………………………………………………………………………...

4) Ronald: "Where does Maria park her car?"

Ronald asked me ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5) Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film?"

Elisabeth asked me ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

6) Mandy: "Can I help you?"

Mandy wanted to know if …………………………………………………………………………………….

7) Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"

Andrew asked me ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

8) Justin: "What are you doing?"

Justin asked me ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

9) Frank: "How much pocket money does Lisa get?"

Frank wanted to know…………………………………………………………………………………………. .

10) Anne: "Must I do the shopping?"

Anne asked …………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ANSWERS

2) Betty:"When did you come?"

Betty wanted to know when I had come.

3) Mark:"Has John arrived?"

Mark asked me if John had arrived.

4) Ronald:"Where does Maria park her car?"

Ronald asked me where Maria parked her car.

5) Elisabeth:"Did you watch the latest film?"

Elisabeth asked me if I had watched the latest film.

6) Mandy:"Can I help you?"

Mandy wanted to know if she could help me.

7) Andrew:"Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"

Andrew asked me if Mandy would have lunch with Sue.

8) Justin:"What are you doing?"

Justin asked me what I was doing.

9) Frank:"How much pocket money does Lisa get?"

Frank wanted to know how much pocket money Lisa got.

10) Anne:"Must I do the shopping?"

Anne asked if she had to do the shopping.

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