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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
Timeline
Posted

Hi all,

 

First time poster, long time lurker.

 

I'm getting ready to submit a K-1 visa application for my fiance, who is Vietnamese. I'm not worried about meeting the relationship criteria. We've met multiple times in the last year and have ample evidence. Our relationship is genuine.

 

I proposed to her back in December, and we found out in January that she's pregnant. We are both so excited! We realize that the baby will be born in Vietnam, which is actually what we were planning on when we talked about having kids. We're timing things so our child can spend the first year there, and they will both come to the US in fall 2027. I know to file a consular report of birth abroad. I talked to a lawyer and all three of us will go in person to the Embassy in Hanoi. Not an issue.

 

What I am unsure of, however, is if I should submit translated ultrasound reports as part of the documentation for our application? I could see it having some bearing on proving our relationship is genuine, but I can also see it being extraneous. I would lean more towards send it now to avoid USCIS requesting further information down the line, but was hoping someone here might have some insight.

 

Thanks!

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ecuador
Timeline
Posted (edited)
51 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

First time poster

Welcome, but you apparently posted in 2018:

https://www.visajourney.com/profile/302237-sluchie88/content/?type=forums_topic&change_section=1

51 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

we found out in January that she's pregnant. We are both so excited!

Congratulations!

51 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

if I should submit translated ultrasound reports as part of the documentation for our application

For your I-129F petition, more precisely (if you remain unmarried; if you marry, it's the I-130 petition -- superior in most ways).  The visa application comes later, after petition approval.

 

Include an ultrasound image (one) if you wish, but don't expect it to expedite your process:

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/671721-no-pregnancy-is-not-grounds-to-expedite-your-process/

51 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

having some bearing on proving our relationship is genuine

Time spent together in person is the chief factor in verifying a bona fide relationship.

51 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

We're timing things so our child can spend the first year there, and they will both come to the US in fall 2027

Things might take longer than that.  Be 100% rock-solid sure that your fiancée/wife will be eligible to emigrate to the U.S. in terms of evidence, history, and circumstance.  Ho Chi Minh City (not Hanoi) is not a consulate to trifle with.  Do massive reading in the Vietnam regional forum here for requirements and standards.  Good luck to you!

Edited by TBoneTX

06-04-2007 = TSC stamps postal return-receipt for I-129f.

06-11-2007 = NOA1 date (unknown to me).

07-20-2007 = Phoned Immigration Officer; got WAC#; where's NOA1?

09-25-2007 = Touch (first-ever).

09-28-2007 = NOA1, 23 days after their 45-day promise to send it (grrrr).

10-20 & 11-14-2007 = Phoned ImmOffs; "still pending."

12-11-2007 = 180 days; file is "between workstations, may be early Jan."; touches 12/11 & 12/12.

12-18-2007 = Call; file is with Division 9 ofcr. (bckgrnd check); e-prompt to shake it; touch.

12-19-2007 = NOA2 by e-mail & web, dated 12-18-07 (187 days; 201 per VJ); in mail 12/24/07.

01-09-2008 = File from USCIS to NVC, 1-4-08; NVC creates file, 1/15/08; to consulate 1/16/08.

01-23-2008 = Consulate gets file; outdated Packet 4 mailed to fiancee 1/27/08; rec'd 3/3/08.

04-29-2008 = Fiancee's 4-min. consular interview, 8:30 a.m.; much evidence brought but not allowed to be presented (consul: "More proof! Second interview! Bring your fiance!").

05-05-2008 = Infuriating $12 call to non-English-speaking consulate appointment-setter.

05-06-2008 = Better $12 call to English-speaker; "joint" interview date 6/30/08 (my selection).

06-30-2008 = Stokes Interrogations w/Ecuadorian (not USC); "wait 2 weeks; we'll mail her."

07-2008 = Daily calls to DOS: "currently processing"; 8/05 = Phoned consulate, got Section Chief; wrote him.

08-07-08 = E-mail from consulate, promising to issue visa "as soon as we get her passport" (on 8/12, per DHL).

08-27-08 = Phoned consulate (they "couldn't find" our file); visa DHL'd 8/28; in hand 9/1; through POE on 10/9 with NO hassles(!).

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
Timeline
Posted
Quote

Welcome, but you apparently posted in 2018

Ah, okay, my bad. I thought that was a different site I used before. My first wife and I did go through the I-130 process, but she sadly passed away in 2022.
 

Quote

Include an ultrasound image (one) if you wish, but don't expect it to expedite your process:

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/671721-no-pregnancy-is-not-grounds-to-expedite-your-process/

Thank you. I had tried searching the forum to see about whether or not pregnancy should be part of proving the relationship, but all I really found were posts about whether it would expedite the process (answer: nope), or if it would impact paperwork or the actual processing of the petition (answer: nope).

I appreciate the response, @TBoneTX!

 

Quote

Ho Chi Minh City (not Hanoi) is not a consulate to trifle with.

I'll do some reading on the regional section, but everyone keeps saying she'll need to go to HCMC and not Hanoi. But everything I've read on the Hanoi consulate website says they can process her visa application there... Is there something I am missing?

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ecuador
Timeline
Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

she sadly passed away in 2022

So sorry to hear.

22 minutes ago, sluchie88 said:

she'll need to go to HCMC

This.  HCMC is the only consulate that processes K-1 & CR-1 visa applications.

 

Edited to add:  Read reviews of HCMC, good and bad:

https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Vietnam&cty=&dfilter=5

Edited by TBoneTX

06-04-2007 = TSC stamps postal return-receipt for I-129f.

06-11-2007 = NOA1 date (unknown to me).

07-20-2007 = Phoned Immigration Officer; got WAC#; where's NOA1?

09-25-2007 = Touch (first-ever).

09-28-2007 = NOA1, 23 days after their 45-day promise to send it (grrrr).

10-20 & 11-14-2007 = Phoned ImmOffs; "still pending."

12-11-2007 = 180 days; file is "between workstations, may be early Jan."; touches 12/11 & 12/12.

12-18-2007 = Call; file is with Division 9 ofcr. (bckgrnd check); e-prompt to shake it; touch.

12-19-2007 = NOA2 by e-mail & web, dated 12-18-07 (187 days; 201 per VJ); in mail 12/24/07.

01-09-2008 = File from USCIS to NVC, 1-4-08; NVC creates file, 1/15/08; to consulate 1/16/08.

01-23-2008 = Consulate gets file; outdated Packet 4 mailed to fiancee 1/27/08; rec'd 3/3/08.

04-29-2008 = Fiancee's 4-min. consular interview, 8:30 a.m.; much evidence brought but not allowed to be presented (consul: "More proof! Second interview! Bring your fiance!").

05-05-2008 = Infuriating $12 call to non-English-speaking consulate appointment-setter.

05-06-2008 = Better $12 call to English-speaker; "joint" interview date 6/30/08 (my selection).

06-30-2008 = Stokes Interrogations w/Ecuadorian (not USC); "wait 2 weeks; we'll mail her."

07-2008 = Daily calls to DOS: "currently processing"; 8/05 = Phoned consulate, got Section Chief; wrote him.

08-07-08 = E-mail from consulate, promising to issue visa "as soon as we get her passport" (on 8/12, per DHL).

08-27-08 = Phoned consulate (they "couldn't find" our file); visa DHL'd 8/28; in hand 9/1; through POE on 10/9 with NO hassles(!).

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline
Posted

I agree with @milimelo, and to add since you are not entirely rushed, and you want the child to spend their first year or so in Vietnam, it would seem a spousal visa would be the better option.  Regardless, it is you and your fiancé's choice.

 

Good Luck!

Visa Received : 2014-04-04 (K1 - see timeline for details)

US Entry : 2014-09-12

POE: Detroit

Marriage : 2014-09-27

I-765 Approved: 2015-01-09

I-485 Interview: 2015-03-11

I-485 Approved: 2015-03-13

Green Card Received: 2015-03-24 Yeah!!!

I-751 ROC Submitted: 2016-12-20

I-751 NOA Received:  2016-12-29

I-751 Biometrics Appt.:  2017-01-26

I-751 Interview:  2018-04-10

I-751 Approved:  2018-05-04

N400 Filed:  2018-01-13

N400 Biometrics:  2018-02-22

N400 Interview:  2018-04-10

N400 Approved:  2018-04-10

Oath Ceremony:  2018-06-11 - DONE!!!!!!!

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
Timeline
Posted

Tbh we went back and forth on the topic of k-1 vs cr-1 visas, but in the end we decided on a K-1 because the processing time is slightly faster in Vietnam, and we were limited on how long I was going to be there in spring 2026. From what we read, since she would be marrying a foreigner there would be paperwork and processing time on the Vietnam side for the marriage.

That, and when I talked to a lawyer a few months ago she said that Trump had blocked a few countries as no longer eligible for immigrant visa's. K-1 is technically not an immigrant visa, so it wouldn't be affected, is what the lawyer said. Vietnam was not on the list, but who knows if/when that could change with the orange man.

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
Timeline
Posted

Ultrasound is irrelevant, by the time of the interview the child will be 1.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted
2 hours ago, sluchie88 said:

K-1 is technically not an immigrant visa, so it wouldn't be affected, is what the lawyer said.

I wouldn't bank on this.  It's technically non-immigrant, but the intent is understood.  

 

CR1 is cheaper in the long run, too, and your wife could have a traditional Vietnamese wedding spectacle, which looks like a lot of fun if I'm honest!  If you got married now and your wife plans to stay in Vietnam with your little one until babe is a year, you might end up in that achievable window of 2 years of marriage.  If you guys can wait to relocate until a day or 2 after your anniversary, she'll get that 10 year greencard.  Removing conditions is taking forever these days and I don't see it getting any better.  

 

Ultrasound is irrelevant.  

 

You may want to look into what challenges you might face with obtaining babe's birth certificate so you can file the CRBA and get babe's US passport, once s/he are born.  

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 FAQ

 

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 Visa spreadsheet: follow directions at top of page for data to be added

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
Timeline
Posted
Quote

I wouldn't bank on this.  It's technically non-immigrant, but the intent is understood

All the more reason to go with the faster processing option, no? 

 

14 hours ago, mam521 said:

your wife could have a traditional Vietnamese wedding spectacle

She does not want this. She thinks its wasteful. 

 

14 hours ago, mam521 said:

You may want to look into what challenges you might face with obtaining babe's birth certificate so you can file the CRBA and get babe's US passport, once s/he are born.  

Yeah, I've been looking at the paperwork needed. When I spoke with the lawyer she said it should be fairly straightforward as long as the evidence and paperwork are in order. 

 

Appreciate the thoughts on CR1 vs K1 but we've looked into both quite a bit before I posted and we feel the K1 works better for us. 

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: China
Timeline
Posted

***Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures***

 

** Moderator hat off **

 

On 4/8/2026 at 7:20 PM, sluchie88 said:

What I am unsure of, however, is if I should submit translated ultrasound reports as part of the documentation for our application? I could see it having some bearing on proving our relationship is genuine, but I can also see it being extraneous.

 

A sonogram (which is what you're describing actually is, ultrasound is only technology) is extraneous and I personally think including it is pointless.  All it shows is your fiancée is expecting a baby, nothing more, nothing less.

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

July 23, 2025:  Filed N-400 online

December 9, 2025:  N-400 interview - approved

February 27, 2026:  Oath

 

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

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