long&kieu

Hey you guys,

I need some advice, and here's my background story. Let me know if you need more detail. It's not your typical marriage, for Americans at least.

I go to Vietnam every several years and one year [2008] I met a neighbor of the family but never thought anything of it.

My uncle always told me when I was ready to marry, he would find me a wife. And since I wanted to go with tradition, I told him to find me one like he did for his son and my grandpa did for him.

Fast foward two years, he found me someone, the neighbor I met before, Kieu. So in the summer of 2010, we started exchanging emails. I jokingly told her that I couldn't speak Vietnamese, so I couldn't make phone calls. [i can speak but not write.] So each email, she would write in Viet and I responded in English and we would roughly translate each other's messages through Google translate.

Since talking to her, I hadn't had time, nor the money to visit her. I've been busy with work and school, that I finally found an opening in the summer of 2011. So I decided to visit and marry her at the same time. It was a traditional marriage where my mom would take care of the jewelery and her family took care of the ceremony and reception since I had no official home there.

Now that I've returned, I started learning more about the forms and paperwork to bring her here. [something I should have done ahead of time.]

My concern is more or less the evidence to show that this is a truthful marriage. I have pictures of the wedding and hanging out, but only of this recent trip, nothing before. I also have emails from when we were getting to know each other, but never chatted or made phone calls. We are on Skype now, but after I left her a laptop to use, so I don't believe that counts as evidence since its after the wedding. I haven't added her to my insurance because it wouldn't help her, and I don't really know when she will come over to start having that deducted from my paycheck. I have no reciepts since most gifts I bought were at Vietnam and most jewelery and such for the wedding was provided by my mom.

Sorry for the long read, but I'm not sure what else to provide to prove this wedding is real. Sometimes I feel that if people are super prepared, its like they are preparing to get away with their fake marriages or what not. Kevin on the forums have suggested Affadavits which I will consider, but when will that be needed?? Before the paperwork goes to the NVC or is it too late??

Thanks for any suggestions and sorry about the long read.

Thanks, Long.

in high fraud countries, like China, Morocco, Nigeria, this can be a problem.

For other countries, with low fraud rates, this is not so big of an issue.

IMO, it's country specific.

For China, (again IMO), 3 visits prior to interview day seems to be a good thing, but as always, it's the totality of the casefile that's important.

is the casefile your referring to the stuff we send in prior to the interview?? or is it the evidence we bring into the interview to show them?? Thanks, Long.

I couldn't find any topics for those who filed in June 2011. So I got my paperwork in at the beginning of June and awaiting the NOA1. Thanks, Long.