"Coffee money" to exit Vietnam on a K1?

[Rvoss77 1]

Apologies in advance - I've seen this topic somewhere on the forum before but can't seem to find it. My fiance just got approved for a K1 visa (hooray!). I read that when he gets on the plane, Vietnamese immigration officials may ask for a bribe. I also read that he is supposed to tell "the police" that he is leaving the country and get some sort of paper proving he told the police about his travel plans. Finally, I read that technically he shouldn't HAVE to report to the police because K1 is a nonimmigrant visa and he is not "immigrating" to the U.S.

Is any of this true? Can/should he go to any police station in HCMC to get this paper? Will the immigration police still ask for money? Should we just pay the bribe or is it worth fighting? Thanks so much for your help!

[mccorleone 12]

This is an interesting subject! I'd be interested in reading feedback on it, too! For my case, when my fiancee went to get the "police record 2", the guy told her something along the line of "you'll need to come back here again when you get your visa". Neither she nor I had any idea what that guy was saying, because logically you wouldn't need to go back there. But hopefully we'll get some input from other Vietnam K-1 cases here.

[TBoneTX 43,022]

*** Country-specific thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Vietnam regional subforum. ***

[frontgear 194]

We were told that my then-fiancee would need a copy of her ID card (Chung Minh Nhan Dan) and a copy of her House Record (Ho Khau) to give to the customs officer at Tan Son Nhat (TSN). We were also advised to prepare USD $20 or $30 as coffee money when we go through customs to exit the country.

Nope, we did not need any of that. No one asked for any of the documents.

Here is what happened at the customs booth when we left TSN.

Customs: How long did it take you to sponsor your fiancee?

Me: About 10 months

Customs: Do you have all the necessary paperwork?

Me: Yeah, I think so.

Customs: Are you sure (with a smirk on his face)

Me: [thinking in my head: sheeeeesh! I should have said "I am not sure, maybe you can help me check" and slipped him the $20]

Customs: OK. You're good to go. Bye!

Me: Thank you. [thinking in my head: Really? Is it really this easy?]

There were a Vietnamese gal and a couple of foreginers waiting behind us so I do not know if that made any difference.

[Casey&Titi 14]

My fiancee and I didn't here anything about preparing any coffee money for departing VN and we passed right through customs at Tan Son Nhat without any problems. She went ahead of me and the VN customs officer, just reviewed her passport and K-1 visa and sent her through. It seems like it took me longer than it did for her. I guess she and I have been lucky, because we paid no coffee money what so ever during our entire process.

Edited June 3, 2015 by incon3037r

[skyking02 11]

why do you need coffee money when you are leaving a country?

[nguyensteve 0]

FREEBIE ,, hihi

[Casey&Titi 14]

why do you need coffee money when you are leaving a country?

I'm assuming to bribe the customs officer, who may be corrupt and attempt to stop your fiancee from leaving or missing your flight.

[Rvoss77 1]

I wonder if you had an easy time because you're not Vietnamese...I've heard that these bribes happen when the Vietnamese person is alone. My fiance will be traveling alone...what "necessary paperwork" was he talking about anyway?

We were told that my then-fiancee would need a copy of her ID card (Chung Minh Nhan Dan) and a copy of her House Record (Ho Khau) to give to the customs officer at Tan Son Nhat (TSN). We were also advised to prepare USD $20 or $30 as coffee money when we go through customs to exit the country.

Nope, we did not need any of that. No one asked for any of the documents.

Here is what happened at the customs booth when we left TSN.

Customs: How long did it take you to sponsor your fiancee?

Me: About 10 months

Customs: Do you have all the necessary paperwork?

Me: Yeah, I think so.

Customs: Are you sure (with a smirk on his face)

Me: [thinking in my head: sheeeeesh! I should have said "I am not sure, maybe you can help me check" and slipped him the $20]

Customs: OK. You're good to go. Bye!

Me: Thank you. [thinking in my head: Really? Is it really this easy?]

There were a Vietnamese gal and a couple of foreginers waiting behind us so I do not know if that made any difference.

[Ning 619]

Apologies in advance - I've seen this topic somewhere on the forum before but can't seem to find it. My fiance just got approved for a K1 visa (hooray!). I read that when he gets on the plane, Vietnamese immigration officials may ask for a bribe. I also read that he is supposed to tell "the police" that he is leaving the country and get some sort of paper proving he told the police about his travel plans. Finally, I read that technically he shouldn't HAVE to report to the police because K1 is a nonimmigrant visa and he is not "immigrating" to the U.S.

Is any of this true? Can/should he go to any police station in HCMC to get this paper? Will the immigration police still ask for money? Should we just pay the bribe or is it worth fighting? Thanks so much for your help!

I wonder if this may be a story told by some street corner ' experts ' when reality is that the embassy requires a police report for many of the visas.

[frontgear 194]

I wonder if this may be a story told by some street corner ' experts ' when reality is that the embassy requires a police report for many of the visas.

No, this is true and has happened to a couple of my friends. One was forced to hand over USD $180 when departing the country. Vietnam is one of the most corrupted countries in the world. It comes as no surprise to me seeing how the communists have ruined a beautiful country once titled the Pearl of the Southeast Asia (after they took over the South in 1975). Shame. Shame.

I wonder if you had an easy time because you're not Vietnamese...I've heard that these bribes happen when the Vietnamese person is alone. My fiance will be traveling alone...what "necessary paperwork" was he talking about anyway?

I am a Vietnamese national.

Edited June 4, 2015 by frontgear

[PeterYuri 0]

My Fiancee recently got approved on the 15 of May and is set to leave near the end of June to come to America. Unfortunately since I have work I cannot escort her. Is this really a common thing that I should send her money for this issue?

[Darnell 8,478]

My Fiancee recently got approved on the 15 of May and is set to leave near the end of June to come to America. Unfortunately since I have work I cannot escort her. Is this really a common thing that I should send her money for this issue?

hard to answer you - can you fill this out please?

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=210058

[frontgear 194]

My Fiancee recently got approved on the 15 of May and is set to leave near the end of June to come to America. Unfortunately since I have work I cannot escort her. Is this really a common thing that I should send her money for this issue?

We were advised to set aside a couple of small bills (USD $5, $10, or $20) and put everything else away (preferrably hidden in your money belt). If they do ask for coffee money, show them that is all you have ($10 or $20) and tell them that is all you have for food, drinks, and taxi. My friend's wife packed USD $200 in her purse when she left Saigon. At the customs booth, she was asked to hand over whatever money she had. She gave them all $200 and they gave her back $20 for food. Thievery at its best!

[PeterYuri 0]

We were advised to set aside a couple of small bills (USD $5, $10, or $20) and put everything else away (preferrably hidden in your money belt). If they do ask for coffee money, show them that is all you have ($10 or $20) and tell them that is all you have for food, drinks, and taxi. My friend's wife packed USD $200 in her purse when she left Saigon. At the customs booth, she was asked to hand over whatever money she had. She gave them all $200 and they gave her back $20 for food. Thievery at its best!

So i'm just so curious/worry, who advised you about this? I was able to be in Vietnam for her interview (which was a good thing since her translator was asking the questions wrong and I pointed that out and end up getting all the questions instead of my fiancee) and no one told me about this. I just occasionally check the forums for kicks and giggles.