First of all congratulations to all the folks that have gone through the interview process and are now holding or just waiting to receive their GC. I really wish that we all have the same quick and pleasant experience that nikosF had... however I don't get my hopes too high... we all know how lucky our friend nikosF is... just look at his timeline: it's like the Mazda commercial zoom, zoom, zoom!! Mr. F: you should buy lottery tickets every time there is a big pot... I will not be surprised if you win once or twice in your life!
It's also great that these guys/gals are not disconnecting from the forum but are hanging around and sharing their info... very generous of you! we really really appreciate it!
Finally I have one follow up question for nikosF in case he wants to share and one idea for people to think about.
nikosF: Were you and the IO of the same ethnicity? in an ideal world this would not matter. But we are not in an ideal world. Your experience during that interview is almost unimaginable for me if you were say a black guy from some African country and the IO was middle aged white male from say one of the southern states. Judging from your description, I would think that you guys shared ethnicity and gender (say white males) and had some cultural affinity... say you are from northern Europe and he is from the Midwest here in the States. If it's OK, can you share this info?... It'll help us make more sense of your experience.
Ultimately, we have no control over who will be our IO. It's a random thing. Let's keep hoping we get a nice person with good training, someone who will focus on the facts and make a rapid and fair decision... amen!
Thinking about these issues has made me look into something else. It is something about which we do have a great deal of control. It's not something that can save a gravely deficient case (say you don't really qualify for the benefits) but it can help avoid unnecessary delays and un-pleasantries that may arise due to miscommunication, suspicion etc.
So here it is... do you know that every time you talk to someone face to face, there are actually two conversations going on? The first one, of course, is the words being exchanged... but there is also the conversation between the two subconscious minds via body language. Both conversations deliver messages. Hopefully the verbal dialogue will be straightforward for you to control. Just listen carefully to what you are being asked or told and watch what you say. The body language part may be trickier because most of us are not even aware that this conversation is going on... therefore we don't put any thoughts into "saying" the right thing (with our body, facial expression, hand gestures, etc). Normally this reply is automatic and driven by our emotions or instinct and may send the IO the wrong message.
Even if we don't plan to send deliberate messages to the IO, we want to learn about body language because we need to understand what the IO is saying through his body language so we can give the appropriate response... if he is friendly, let's respond in kind, if he is suspicious, let's tell him we are trustworthy and have nothing to hide, if he is angry, let's make sure we deflect the anger so it is not directed to us… etc.
For a quick crash course in body language... I found this website by doing research... it is loaded with useful information.
http://changingminds.org/techniques/body/body_language.htm
There is a lot of information there also about how to interact with people more effectively. I have not spent a lot oftime reading this material... so I don't know if there is some weird stuff that may offend people (mind control? whatever)... I think it will be helpful to take some time to review this material before the interview...
it may come handy specially if we are unlucky and get one of the bad IOs (little training, bad attitude, prejudiced, whatever). In any case, this skill (reading, speaking Body Language) is a very important one that you can use in almost every aspect of your life.
Enjoy!
