Our appointment was January 8, 2023 at 7:30 am. I am the petitioner and attended the interview. We booked a room at the Muong Thanh Saigon Centre Hotel, right across the street from the Consulate. The room was $80. We scouted out the area the night prior to get an idea of where to go in the morning. We walked 2 blocks in the morning to the area directly opposite the entrance. There was no issue with the Red Chair people as I had read in previous reviews. We paid 70k VND for us both to sit and have coffee and wait.
At about 7 on the dot a guard came outside, and the "rush" to the line outside the entrance began. We were maybe 2/3 of the way toward the end of the block, with probably 30 people in front of us. 3 people came outside and began verifying ID, passport, Appointment Confirmation, DS160 Confirmation, and 2 Visa Photos. They also checked my passport. ** Have your documents arranged in order per part 4 of the Instruction Package.** Many people did not and got very flustered trying to find what was required, as the people checking were all business and no nonsense and were understandably impatient.
At 7:20 we were in the entrance, where a guard swept everyone with a metal detector. We spent maybe 10 minutes in line, turned our cell phones in (they give you a placard you use to get them back when leaving), and arrived at the main area, where we were separated by a male staffer. I waited in a seat while she was in line. They verified the Pkt3 letter, that she had the medical envelope, and her birth certificate. Then gave her a slip with our number on it, 2041, and told her to go sit and wait.
We waited together for our number to be called, probably 15 minutes or so. We got called to Window 5, where she was asked to supply copies of her passport, original and copy of my birth certificate and divorce decree, her justice record, etc from the required documents list. The originals of everything were returned once they verified the copies were correct. ***We were required to supply the DS-160 receipt, which is not listed on the instruction packet. Luckily we had it or would have been sent away ***
We were told to go have a seat and wait for our number to be called. They have an automated system that calls out numbers and windows, as well as a display that scrolls the numbers as they are called. They do not go in numerical order. there are 20 something windows total. **Sidenote, bay/window 11 has a door into a booth. We saw 3 people get called there, and each was there a good bit. I have no idea what it was for.** They were calling 1000 and 2000 series numbers at a pretty good clip. A few people did not hear or see their number called and staff located them, so do not worry if it's too loud to hear well, although how anyone could miss their number on the display is beyond me.
After maybe an hour our number was called and we went to bay 14. There was a young man with a tattoo on his arm and a female Vietnamese interpreter. He asked Hoa if she spoke english. She said a little. They swore her in in Vietnamese. The interpreter was telling her to place her fingers on a scanner outside the window, which she did, but her hands were too sweaty. They passed her a tissue and had a good laugh about it, which broke the tension a little bit. The interviewer then told her in Vietnamese to scan her thumbs as well. That dude speaks Vietnamese like a native.
Here are the questions they asked, as best as I can recall:
To her: Where was she going to live when she went to the US?
What is my job?
What is my address?
Do I have kids? How many?
Does she have any family in the US?
*** The interviewer was asking her the questions in english and was typing as the interpreter and Hoa talked in Vietnamese.
Then he turned to me:
How did we meet? (Vietnam Cupid. He did not ask for the IMBRA)
When did we meet?
When did I divorce?
What was Hoa's job in Vietnam (she's currently laid off so I explained)
Has Hoa talked to my children?
Has Hoa talked to my mother?
Have I ever sent her money? (I said yes. He did not ask for any supporting info).
They then switched back to Hoa and he asked her if she had any kids? Something went amiss with the interpreter, and Hoa told her 3, thinking she was asking about mine. He then jumped in and spoke to her in Vietnamese and clarified and they all 3 laughed.
Does she have any family in the US?
I was telling him she had distant family in California and a niece in Iowa and he asked if I had ever met her? I said no. He then asked Hoa the same thing in Vietnamese. She answered and he said "Congratulations, your Visa is approved. Have a nice day and enjoy your time in the US" and stamped the appointment confirmation with a blue stamp.
It took maybe 5 minutes tops at the window. They did not ask to see any evidence of our relationship at all, or the I-134. He typed the entire time as we answered each question. If there was anything they asked that was not straight off of the I-129 I cannot remember what it was.
In summary, I do believe they decide in advance whether or not they are going to approve the Visa. The questions were preloaded on the computer and he was reading the questions and typing our answers in as we went. They were very nice and relaxed, which helped, as Hoa was very nervous. I was eyeballing the entire time looking for a slip in our packet and didn't see anything.
If your relationship is genuine and you submit a good 129 package there is nothing to worry about. I read horror stories all over the place how terrible the consulate in Ho Chi Minh is, how the petitioner should not attend the interview, sending money is looked at as human trafficking, show up 2 hours early because of how bad the line is, people getting yelled at, etc etc. None of that was true.
We were the 3 hours total.
Jan 8 2024 interview/verbal approval
Jan 9 CEAC status APPROVED
Jan 10 CEAC status ISSUED
God Speed to everyone. Feel free to PM me if needed.
Seth
Ngoc Thien
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3:43 pm January 11, 2024
