K1 Visa Interview Vietnam 2019

[David7788 5]

I have found all the information on Visa Journey very helpful and wanted give something in return to help others .....

 

I went with my Fiancé Uyen to the US Consulate in September 2019 and had a very different experience then other people have had and want other people to be prepared. I think every case is different.
 

My fiancé and I prepared everything for weeks. I came to Vietnam a few days before the interview we meet with my fiancé’s lawyer at green visa,  I found out 1 of the lawyers their used to work at the US Consulate in HCM . She helped us to prepare everything in order as we need at the Consulate to also helped to calm Uyen’s nerves .
 

The next morning we arrived at the US Consulate at 6:30am there was already a line down the block. The greeters in orange shirts started to arrive at 6:45am and told everyone to stand close to the wall .

the worked through the line and checked for appointment letters and my fiancé visa and her daughter’s . We went through security checkpoint were they check your bags and wand you then you go through the door at a little after 7am. You wait in the covered room but not really indoors (no air conditioning) it takes about 30 minutes or so for the long lines to start moving where they say to be prepared to give them your phones .

side note ... no large bags like backpacks are allowed and no drinks or snacks inside and be prepared it’s hot with only ceiling fans.
 

Once in the next room you go through a metal detector and give up your cell phone . Then into the next non air conditioning room to get you number to sit and wait.

you go to the first window about 40 minutes to 1 hour later show all your paperwork so they can verify you have everything if not out you go . Seen a couple people turned away .

 

2nd time your called is about 2 hours or so ( they were very busy over 200 people) we got a older American guy with grey hair and a Vietnamese interpreter but my fiancé said she didn’t speak really good Vietnamese. At first he was a little rude and very direct asking if she could speak English my fiancé said she could speak a little and he asked a questions in English next asked how we meet but spoke a little quick so my fiancé miss understood and said when we first meet in person she was very nervous when she didn’t answer correctly and said she would prefer to speak in Vietnamese. Also he speaks very good Vietnamese but the interpreter asked the question. He then turned to me and ask how does this work if she can’t speak English clearly getting frustrated. I started to say how we talked then he cut me off and clearly annoyed with him I said stop let me finish explaining to his surprise that I did this . I explained if you slow down your English Uyen understand everything. Then he kinda gave me a look that he didn’t believe me so I turned I spoke to Uyen and told her what they were asking and she understood perfectly to his amazement . 
He started interviewing me not asking my Fiancé hardly anything else. Which surprised me. He asked her 1 more quick question the told me Congratulations in English only. 

 

Looking back I pulled out all of our paperwork as soon as we got to the window including 2500 text messages separated into smaller groups. He never asked for any additional paperwork.

I had our timeline of 5 pages separated before and after engagement notarized, how we meet, 1 year bank statements and paycheck stubs, last year tax form and W2. He didn’t ask for anything I was very surprised.
 

I seen a lot of blue slips haded out while I was there and only a couple Americans there with their fiancé. You could clearly see not a lot of approvals before I left at 10:30am but a lot of very sad people who  dint get approved. 
 

 

hope this helps the next person preparing for the interview in HCM as my experience was totally different from what had been previously reported by other people’s experience.

 

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

2 hours ago, David7788 said:

2nd time your called is about 2 hours or so ( they were very busy over 200 people) we got a older American guy with grey hair and a Vietnamese interpreter but my fiancé said she didn’t speak really good Vietnamese. At first he was a little rude and very direct asking if she could speak English my fiancé said she could speak a little and he asked a questions in English next asked how we meet but spoke a little quick so my fiancé miss understood and said when we first meet in person she was very nervous when she didn’t answer correctly and said she would prefer to speak in Vietnamese. Also he speaks very good Vietnamese but the interpreter asked the question. He then turned to me and ask how does this work if she can’t speak English clearly getting frustrated. I started to say how we talked then he cut me off and clearly annoyed with him I said stop let me finish explaining to his surprise that I did this . I explained if you slow down your English Uyen understand everything. Then he kinda gave me a look that he didn’t believe me so I turned I spoke to Uyen and told her what they were asking and she understood perfectly to his amazement . 

He started interviewing me not asking my Fiancé hardly anything else. Which surprised me. He asked her 1 more quick question the told me Congratulations in English only. 

Looking back I pulled out all of our paperwork as soon as we got to the window including 2500 text messages separated into smaller groups. He never asked for any additional paperwork.

I had our timeline of 5 pages separated before and after engagement notarized, how we meet, 1 year bank statements and paycheck stubs, last year tax form and W2. He didn’t ask for anything I was very surprised.

I seen a lot of blue slips haded out while I was there and only a couple Americans there with their fiancé. You could clearly see not a lot of approvals before I left at 10:30am but a lot of very sad people who  dint get approved. 

hope this helps the next person preparing for the interview in HCM as my experience was totally different from what had been previously reported by other people’s experience.

 

This is exactly why I say that it is always better when the petitioner is able to be with the beneficiary at the interview. Because he could have easily denied her or asked for more evidence if you were not there. But since you stood your ground and made your case then it worked out in the end. Congratulations btw. 

 

I also moved this over to the Vietnam subforum. 

[David7788 5]

1 minute ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

This is exactly why I say that it is always better when the petitioner is able to be with the beneficiary at the interview. Because he could have easily denied her or asked for more evidence if you were not there. But since you stood your ground and made your case then it worked out in the end. Congratulations btw. 

 

I also moved this over to the Vietnam subforum. 

Yes could have easily went wrong. Thank You 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

2 minutes ago, David7788 said:

Yes could have easily went wrong. Thank You 

This happened to my wife during the AOS interview and I had to do exactly what you did during the K1 interview. She can understand English really good but back then accents and slang really threw her off. But in the end she was approved and that is all what matters. 

[David7788 5]

11 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

This happened to my wife during the AOS interview and I had to do exactly what you did during the K1 interview. She can understand English really good but back then accents and slang really threw her off. But in the end she was approved and that is all what matters. 

It really shows you every interview is different. Must prepare a lot before 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

3 hours ago, David7788 said:

hope this helps the next person preparing for the interview in HCM as my experience was totally different from what had been previously reported by other people’s experience.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I've been to enough interviews at the HCM Consulate (some for myself, some with family members) to know that what you experienced is actually not out of the norm for that place. There are some good people working there but there are also some mean people working there as well. I think everyone who read you post would be able to conclude that had you not been there, she probably would have gotten a denial. That's what I hate about this process, especially at HCMC: the room is very loud, they were standing behind that thick piece of glass so you can't hear them very well, and they talk very soft like almost whispering to you and expect someone whose English is a second language to understand them perfectly, otherwise the relationship is fraud. And the room is super hot, this is Vietnam, it's like 125 degree with 1000% humidity, Jesus, and they stand there inside, in an air-conditioned room. Why can't they conduct interviews inside? 

[David7788 5]

7 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I've been to enough interviews at the HCM Consulate (some for myself, some with family members) to know that what you experienced is actually not out of the norm for that place. There are some good people working there but there are also some mean people working there as well. I think everyone who read you post would be able to conclude that had you not been there, she probably would have gotten a denial. That's what I hate about this process, especially at HCMC: the room is very loud, they were standing behind that thick piece of glass so you can't hear them very well, and they talk very soft like almost whispering to you and expect someone whose English is a second language to understand them perfectly, otherwise the relationship is fraud. And the room is super hot, this is Vietnam, it's like 125 degree with 1000% humidity, Jesus, and they stand there inside, in an air-conditioned room. Why can't they conduct interviews inside? 

Yes I seen a lot of people leave there very sad because it is hard to get approved without front loading your case with more evidence then they want to see. 

[WandY 430]

On 9/26/2019 at 9:20 AM, David7788 said:

Yes I seen a lot of people leave there very sad because it is hard to get approved without front loading your case with more evidence then they want to see. 

I agree that's it is hard to get approved. But I disagree about front-loading. No need to provide beyond what they ask. You had a lot of stuff and they didn't care. I mean, 2500 text messages separated into folders? Nobody cares about that.  I only had what they wanted and that's all they looked at. Front-loading is a myth. Provide what they ask - no less, no more.

[David7788 5]

2 hours ago, WandY said:

I agree that's it is hard to get approved. But I disagree about front-loading. No need to provide beyond what they ask. You had a lot of stuff and they didn't care. I mean, 2500 text messages separated into folders? Nobody cares about that.  I only had what they wanted and that's all they looked at. Front-loading is a myth. Provide what they ask - no less, no more.

I think every case different but 2500 text is because my Fiancé speaks only a little English so you must show them how you communicate. 

[KTMT 3]

Thanks for sharing.  But I'm a little confused.  You said your fiancee doesn't speak good Vietnamese, and she speaks only a little English, so what does she speak natively? Could that be why the interviewers were annoyed?

[David7788 5]

13 hours ago, KTMT said:

Thanks for sharing.  But I'm a little confused.  You said your fiancee doesn't speak good Vietnamese, and she speaks only a little English, so what does she speak natively? Could that be why the interviewers were annoyed?

I meant she didn't speak good English, if you read the post above yours it will clarify that.  You have to slow it down when you speak so she can understand what you say. She is Vietnamese 

Edited October 19, 2019 by David7788

[visafrompa 9]

On 9/28/2019 at 9:02 PM, WandY said:

I agree that's it is hard to get approved. But I disagree about front-loading. No need to provide beyond what they ask. You had a lot of stuff and they didn't care. I mean, 2500 text messages separated into folders? Nobody cares about that.  I only had what they wanted and that's all they looked at. Front-loading is a myth. Provide what they ask - no less, no more.

Someone who understands!

 

2500 texts could be a chatbot script prattling about.

 

If more consulates would allow petitioners to attend it would rule out a lot of these indiscriminate denials.

[MattW83 2]

 

On 9/26/2019 at 5:49 AM, David7788 said:

hope this helps the next person preparing for the interview in HCM as my experience was totally different from what had been previously reported by other people’s experience.

It definitely did. Your write-up convinced me to attend my fiance's interview last week and I think it made a big difference in her getting approved. The CO (a young mixed girl) didn't let me stand there with her though, and sent the interpreter away entirely. The questions weren't all that easy either - for example, she was asked what year my mother was born (even I might have gotten that wrong...) We too saw very few pink approvals while there. We got blue because the background on my fiance's visa photo was "too dark," but went back that afternoon with a new photo and got approved. Her visa arrived today.

 

Maybe things have changed at that consulate since all those reports of easy interviews were written. Our case was pretty straightforward I thought: I lived with her over a year in Vietnam, neither of us had been married, no kids, no huge age difference... Everyone we dealt with was polite, but it wasn't exactly a cakewalk. 

[JasonGG 267]

5 hours ago, MattW83 said:

 

It definitely did. Your write-up convinced me to attend my fiance's interview last week and I think it made a big difference in her getting approved. The CO (a young mixed girl) didn't let me stand there with her though, and sent the interpreter away entirely. The questions weren't all that easy either - for example, she was asked what year my mother was born (even I might have gotten that wrong...) We too saw very few pink approvals while there. We got blue because the background on my fiance's visa photo was "too dark," but went back that afternoon with a new photo and got approved. Her visa arrived today.

 

Maybe things have changed at that consulate since all those reports of easy interviews were written. Our case was pretty straightforward I thought: I lived with her over a year in Vietnam, neither of us had been married, no kids, no huge age difference... Everyone we dealt with was polite, but it wasn't exactly a cakewalk. 

Congratulations!