I would like to know if it is better to get married in Vietnam and then apply to Immigration or is it better to go through the K-1 (Fiancee Visa) route? I am new to this process and would like to know before I go to HCMC to meet the girl I have been corresponding for some time. Thanks to anyone who can help.

I'd suggest going to visit and spend time face to face with her before deciding to be married.

Also, read through the guides here on VJ as well as read through some forums to get a sense of what's involved in the process.

It seems that the K-1 process takes less time than the K-3.

Yes, of course, I am visiting and spending time before any decision about marriage is made. I was just curious to see what the general thought on which way to proceed if the feelings are mutual and if we want to continue with a relationship. The trip is just the first step and, from what I've read, the process can be demanding and frustrating. Also, it is still 3 months until I make the trip.

It looks like in the case of those going through Vietnam, having a engagement party is necessary. You may run into trouble with the visa interview if you don't do it. The reason being that Vietnam is rather high fraud post, and skipping out on cultural traditions may be considered a sign of fraud.

First thing first, Read the FAQ's and Guides. You will find the answers to most of your questions there. Read it again if you already did. Then, come back with questions. Nobody can tell you which route is faster, I dare not, only share with you my own experience based on reading many threads on VJ to go with K-1 process instead of K-3. I find it quite interesting how some people even consider K-3 right upfront where that would be your last resort if K-1 fails

Good luck

If you decide to have an egagement ceromony on your first trip, I would suggest having it near the end of the trip rather than the beginning. In my case, they were suspicious that we had had our Dam Hoi within a few days of my arrival on my first trip to Vietnam. They also had a problem that I only made one trip before filing for the K1 along with my extreme lack of evidence prior to our Dam Hoi. I have tough mountain to climb to covince them that we are legit. Good Luck to you on whatever you decide to do.

I appreciate everyone's input. I certainly am not rushing into anything at this point because, in the beginning, I was only planning on going to Vietnam to re-visit some of the places I remember from back in my G.I. days in 1970-71. While reseaching about present day Vietnam I ran into some Internet dating sites advertising Vietnamese woman. So my original intent was not to meet someone for marriage. Maybe this is a "kill two birds with one stone" adventure. We will see.

I married my Vietnamese wife here in the USA after going through the K-1 process. Several years later her daughter went back and married her high school sweet heart. It was a very hard process for her. She had to get a Doctor to sign paper work from Vietnam saying she was mentally able to get married, that she was single, never in trouble with the law. The hardest part was even though everything was notarized we had to prove the notary signature. Which required us sending in all of the paper work to Department of State of Colorado which certified the signatures. I am not sure but I was also told if you married it actual takes longer to get her to the USA than if you do the marriage here. I was told it was about one year longer. Like I said Kim and did the K-1 so I can not state for a fact that K-3 is longer.