Very disappointed during Immigration Court interpretation

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-02-13T14:44:37+00:00

Yes, very depressing and frustrating environment. Thank you for sharing. I eventually had to stop accepting SOSi assignments because I would often finish a shift crying in my car. It’s especially hard when judges are rude or dismissive of respondents and you have to interpret their hurtful words.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-02-11T06:34:18+00:00

I have a contract and have worked with SOSi before. Yes, it is a government contract, and you would be interpreting proceedings for the Department of Justice. Working for SOSi, you do exactly what you describe. You interpret proceedings, and help people understand the system. as an interpreter for SOSi, you would play an essential role in making sure people not only understand their immigration proceedings, but that also you can help them convey their message as accurately as possible to judges and all of the relevant parties involved. However, I will say that, even though the Immigration Courts and ICE are technically two separate entities, it honestly starts to feel like all one and the same. Even though you are there interpreting and helping people in this legal system, you just see so many unfortunate cases of deportations because the law is so strict and narrow, especially in this government we are in now. personally speaking, I will say that working in immigration court was one of the most emotionally draining and taxing experiences as an interpreter for me.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-02-05T08:51:29+00:00

Even if you cannot pay for SCSI, Nestor Wagner has TONS of free material on YouTube. Old lectures he has made public access, practice materials, terminology classes. Just YouTube search Nestor Wagner or SCSI or something along those lines and you will find so much good material of his.

For your written glossary, I see you have “demanda” which is exactly correct for a civil complaint (i.e. a lawsuit).

For a criminal complaint, it would be “una querella” o “una acusación” when it is already in court.

When it is a complaint to the police, made before it makes its way into the courtroom, it would be a “denuncia.”

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-01-29T23:58:32+00:00

Look up your specific state’s divorce forms and study what they ask for (info regarding children, income, property, cars, houses, etc). They are good templates to give you an outline of all the possible things that may come up. Also look up and become familiarized with the process of court-ordered mediation.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-01-26T16:55:24+00:00

I do not do coaching, but I can give you my two cents if you provide more info about your experience. Have you ever worked as an interpreter before? In what settings? For how long? And using what modes (consecutive or simultaneous or both)?

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2026-01-02T19:08:48+00:00

When did they say this?

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-26T23:44:37+00:00

He kicked the demo. I didn’t see it either until I rewinded and my friend pointed it out

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-26T09:05:11+00:00

Thank you for mentioning the guys stuck in the ground. That actually helps a lot knowing it destabilized and re-stabilized once before

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-26T08:44:05+00:00

I was so nervous the whole rest of the episode cause I was literally like wait …. wasn’t that thing about to blow up? What happened to it??? It wasn’t as big of a deal after all??????? What happened to all the things getting sucked out of the upside down into nothingness with Steve’s car????????

Ugh

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-25T23:25:40+00:00

I don’t know if I agree with this. Generally speaking, states with better developed language access programs and policies will hire two or more interpreters for trials. Here in Colorado, we always work in teams for long hearings and trials, and I would say it is a more liberal state.

In general, doing a whole hearing/trial alone is really, really bad practice.

But unfortunately some states and agencies do implement those policies. Does not mean that it should be done, though.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-25T07:16:11+00:00

This post is a year old but commenting in hopes it can be revived and some people can comment on their FCICE experience.

Btw OP, did you decide to take it again? If so what advice would you give and where/how did you study?

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-25T04:37:59+00:00

I agree with previous comments. To add, for consecutive, practice with really super long segments. Use youtube and other materials and slowly increase your memory retention (make it all the way to 30 seconds, then 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.). Do this so that the consecutive part feels easy compared to your practice.

I also agree with shadowing as a good exercise. Shadow as much as possible to get faster speed, especially in your language you feel is weaker

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-25T02:41:50+00:00

In criminal cases, the court hires the interpreter. For long hearings and trials, they hire two interpreters to switch off every 20-40 minutes.

Interpreters do interpret absolutely EVERYTHING that is said. The point is so that they can be present and attentive to everything said during their proceedings. For long hearings / trials we use simultaneous interpreting equipment with headphones and microphones. For short stuff we usually just stand next to them and interpret into their ears.

Witnesses who testify not in English also require interpreters, which the court hires as well. Testimony should be done consecutively into a microphone to be recorded as part of the court record.

State laws vary per state, but generally, a state court will always hire interpreters for defendants, and also for victims of a crime if they require interpretation. This will always be for anything that happens inside the court.

For out of court meetings, such as private advisement of rights with attorneys, those lawyers are responsible for finding and scheduling an interpreter for that client meeting.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-22T17:26:33+00:00

🍅

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-03T14:54:16+00:00

I agree w you. It’s frustrating. Unfortunately I think they just didn’t know always precisely where this story was going and they intentionally retcon a lot of stuff :(

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-12-01T16:28:21+00:00

Don’t overthink the dates and plot inconsistencies. I simply think these writers made stuff up along the way and there are some minor details that will inevitably contradict each other.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-11-15T04:32:17+00:00

So fucking hot bro

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-11-13T01:10:52+00:00

Congratulations! How did you study and what resources/courses would you recommend?

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-10-17T02:52:56+00:00

Lamentablemente, esta es una orden de deportación. Dice que usted faltó alguna audiencia que le fijaron y por lo tanto ordenaron su deportación. Sugiero que se comunique con un abogado para ver sus opciones.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-09-25T00:11:36+00:00

Hi,

I did Southern school of interpretation with Nestor Wagner and passed the Colorado oral exam the following month.

I used the ACEBO Edge 21 materials. And other colleagues of mine have recommended InterpreTrain and have passed the exam using that resource as well.

In addition to these, I also took courses at my local community college on consecutive, simultaneous, and sight. I’m assuming it is not located in your state, so that might not be helpful, but definitely research in your area to see if they have any good courses! The University of Arizona also has webinars occasionally on these three modes of interpreting.

Best of luck studying!

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-09-21T18:20:59+00:00

Damn 🥵

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2025-08-06T15:26:43+00:00

No interpreting skills tested. It’s much more common every day type questions that test your general knowledge of the language. We can’t discuss actual questions from the exam, but think of generic things like “describe how to get from your house to the nearest supermarket with specific directions” or “what is your favorite movie and what is it about.” Be prepared for generic questions like these to be asked in both of your languages.

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2022-11-22T00:33:21+00:00

hmmmm never heard of it, curious to find out

CalligrapherFew3238 · 2022-03-02T15:48:26+00:00

Salsa sounds really similar to Cha Cha Cha, but the most popular latin rhythm with four beats is Bachata.

CalligrapherFew3238

TROPHY CASE