Chris & Trinh

In Saigon in most cases it takes 2-4 weeks.

We are sitting here right now and reading her new police report we just got last week. There is NO expire date or reference anywhere on the document that states it expires. All there is is a date that it was made. So that is strange some say it is good for 1 year and other's don't. Also strange they directly told her it is NOT valid for 1 year. Apparently the consulate website says they accept them for 1 year, so I guess that is the important thing now. I just wish there was some kind of consistency.

Hey guys - Question for you. On the state.gov site, it mentions that for Vietnam, my wife would need a Original Justice Report # 2 and a Original Foreign Police Certificate. I know that the Original Justice Report #2 is called "Phieu Ly Lich Tu Phap So 2" but what is the foreign police certificate?

Thanks!

Original Foreign Police Certificates: are requested if the applicant aged 16 and over from any country OUTSIDE of Vietnam in which you resided for at least six months since age of 16 or older.

It means that if your wife has lived in any other country besides Vietnam after the age of 16 for at least 6 months, then she will need to get a police report for any country(s) she has lived in besides Vietnam.

So sounds like there is a discrepancy between the Vietnamese authority and the US consulate on the accepted validity Of expiration. I can see where the confusion is coming from then.

Police record 1 expires in 6 months.

Police record 2 expires in 12 months.

You need to obtain the police record 2.

NOT good for 1 year!! There is a lot of confusion about this. When my wife went to get her police report she specifically asked this exact question. They said NO it is NOT valid for 1 year. They said she could use it for 6 - 8 months. Even they could not give an exact time that the document is valid. My wife got hers in July and it expired February. Our interview was in March. We only realized at the time of the interview it was over 6 months old. We thought they would request a new one. Even though we passed the interview my wife went directly to make a new police report in case they realized it was expired and requested a new one before they issued the visa. Thank God they did not request a new one. So the US Consulate may accept a police report over 6 months it seems but they clearly tell you when you get the document that is is valid for 6 months. She went twice to get this report and both times was told 6 months.

If you ask me that whole new webbsite is a piece of #######. After my wife's IR-1 visa approval (Feb 25th) they directed us to the usdocs website to enter our address for the visa delivery and we could also track it that way too. However, we were never able to track it, check it's status or anything. It kept saying no valid record found. So we had to call the hotline number they also gave us and talk to a real person. They had to re-enter our address and told us it would be delivered the next day, which it finally was. Obviously the website it not working properly yet. You might be best to call the hotline and speak with someone

Hello everyone

I received a notice that my case was transferred on Mar. 4th. I am starting to prepare for the NVC process and I have a couple of quick questions.

I am retired, I have been living in Vietnam since Jan. 2012 with two visits back to the States. One was for 6 weeks and one was for 7 weeks. I own my home in the States with bank accounts etc... my question is will I need a police certificate from Vietnam.

Question number two has to do with my stepdaughter. She will need a police certificate by the time we have our interview. She will be 16 on April 28th. In the mean time I will be sending documents to NVC before she is 16. Should I send a statement saying that she cannot apply for a certificate until she turns 16 and it can take up to 6 weeks to process. It may be possible to have a certificate by the time we have our interview and I could take it to the interview.

thanks for any comments...

You are the USC. There is no reason for you to have a police report. The police reports needed are for the beneficiary(s). Your wife needs one for sure. I cannot answer about the stepdaughter. What you suggested in writing a letter and explain the situation sounds good to me but in reality I have no idea about that one.

There is nothing to worry about. Your case is fine. ALL cases are taking a long time now days. No one here can help you or tell you about YOUR case.

You can call USCIS and ask about your case.

You can request a service request at USCIS to go personally talk to them.

You can contact your local congressman to inquire on your behalf.

OR you can patiently wait like everyone else.

Even if you do all those things listed above, it will probably not do anything to make the process any quicker for you. Like i said if you read the information in the link I posted above it shows I-130 cases are taking 100-200 days for Vietnam to be approved at the USCIS stage. Some people that post on this website have waited more than 1 year for USCIS to approve their case.

I petitioned for my wife. We live abroad (in Vietnam) together now. Our case was faster than most people who applied at the same time. Our I-130 was approved after 120 days. So I would say you have to just wait more. It will come, just be patient and don't stress out.

hi everybody My pd November 1 2013 Can someone give me the ideals When my case approval? Thanks

The I-130 is taking around 100 days but could be a lot longer. Each person's circumstances are different and depends on the service center and the beneficiary's country.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/irstats.php?cfl=

The link above show the averages of all the VJ member's who have filled in a timeline (by the way, fill in your timeline and people can answer your question better and more accurately) If you look at the link above it shows that at the Nebraska Service Center it is taking about 100 days between the NOA1 and NOA2. Also if you scroll down and look at country (Vietnam) it says people from there are having an average of 200 days from NOA1 and NOA2. Also you have to account for any RFE's that you might receive. So sometime between 100 and 200 days for aprovals. Anyway.... Seems you are at about 120ish day. So you "should" here something anytime now by following those stats.

Anyone else here can add/correct me if I am wrong.

I Concur....about the same thing we sent in. I did do a cover page, if nothing else it helped me keep everything oranized. As the abover poster said having a child together is an added bonus and we sure included a copy of our sons CRBA. I believe it really helps. You'll have to provide this at some point anyway. At least the original was requested from us at the interview stage. I think you have just completed your child's CRBA, isn't that corect Todd? Be prepared to present it.

Just to add our experience as far as Visa/Passport delivery, albiet a different Visa type (I-R1). They told us it would take 1-2 weeks as well for delivery. Our interview was on Feb 25, 2014 and my wife's visa arrived 9 days later on Feb 06, 2014. As far as the interview process it is similar to the K-1 interview process but I am sure slightly different questions beign asked. You can read our consulate review here: (http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=13934)

Congrats ConGau1981, when does your fiance head for the states?

wow nice review trinh thanks! all of our original documents were sent to NVC and i tihnk NVC forward it to HCM consulate but they told us to bring all orignal documents so im a little worry. and my dumb lawyer made me sign an expired i-864 affadavit of support so now we have to redo that form again and to bring it with us to the interview.

There were a couple people getting interviewed at the same time we were that were told that one of their original items (birth cetificate etc...) had not been submitted (lost) when it acutally had. This happened to two different people. I have read stories that this has happened and is common. So these people got a blue slip until they could get another original and have it submitted.

We had doubles made of everything that we sent to NVC. At the interview they took some of the things but mostly didn't need it. Each person's case is different. Just be prepared. You should have gotten a letter/email that tells you what they need. We stressed a lot before the interview and in reality it was the easiest part of the whole process.

Don't stress and good luck

-Chris

Howdy all! I'm probably a week away from filing for IR-1/CR-1, but if I can file K-3 instead and cut off a significant chunk of time with the online system, I'd definitely go that route. Anyone have any experience with that? I'm having a difficult time finding any detailed information on the new system and the benefits of it.

-Blake

It is my understanding that the K3 is rarely accepted anymore. It has been replaced by the CR-1 / IR-1 visa.

so my wife got an interview date on march 24, 2014 my question if i go back to vietnam on march 17 and take her to the interview will they interview me also?

Yes you can go to the interview. It is better if you can go with her. There is a chance you will be asked questions as well. My wife and I had our interview last week and they asked me questions too. You can read the consulate review I wrote about our experience here: (http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=13934)

Thanks everyone! It is a great feeling and a lot of stress relieved!! Now we are just waiting for the visa to be delieved. Hopefully next week sometime. No rush though since we wont be leaving for a little while. Just feel better receiving it and having it in hand if you know what I mean. Thanks for all your support and again, if you have any question feel free to message me.

Thanks

Chris

My GOD!!! I never thought we would see the day our I-R1 visa was approved. My wife passed her interview today. 344 days after our NOA1(March 18). There were bumps in the road (1 RFE at USCIS, and 2 check lists at NVC) that waisted about 3 months. However, I know there are still a ton of people from March waiting so I can't really complain. I wish everyone the best on your journey.

My wife's I-R1 visa is finally approved!! It took 344 days from our NOA1 until our Interview. So almost 1 year!! My god what a long difficult process. I am so happy to have that behind us now. I wrote a review that can be found in the Consulate Reviews section. If anyone has any questions please ask. I want to thank everyone here who has helped. This website is a HUGE asset. Thanks a MILLION!

None of her assets will count or help you towards qualifying. You need to use your assets.

I just had a quick chat with my friend who is working at HSBC Vietnam, they require your work contract and also tax ID # if you're US Citizen. Married couple can however open a joined account but they require marriage certificate.

Sounds like everyone have different answers depending on who you talk to regarding HSBC. Just from my own first hand experience I did NOT have to give any kind of tax ID # just my work contract. Also, although my wife is an authorized user on my account they will not allow a fully joint account because it would allow her to move money out of the country. This is only allowed for businesses and forieners working here. Maybe because my account is set up so I can transfer money from my US bank and HSBC here in Vietnam. I hear that all banks here opperate pretty much the same.

My advice would be have your wife go to the banks and ask about it. OR, you can ask when you come here to get a definate answer for the bank you wish to use.

Unfortunatly most rules in Vietnam are not so clear. Also which rules are followed and ignored depends on the business, gov. office, or person you talk to. That's why anything you have to do regarding legal type paper work sucks. No clear cut answers about anything.

I think you do need to be working here or have some type of resident card. I had to show my work contract. This is for HSBC but I think it is similar with all banks. Also, they would not allow my wife and I have to a joint account. Something to do with me, a foreigner being able to send money out of the country, but she is not allowed to so she could not be a joint account holder. However, she is authorized to use my account, debit cards etc.... Not sure it Citi bank is the same.

Went for the interview with the wife and as advised by VJ members the baby and myself had to wait outside. So we went to the coffee bean across the street and waited. One hour later the phone rings and the wife tells me the CO gave her a letter of invitation to come inside and that the CO wants to see me and the baby. After I get inside the CO asks for my passport and I see him look at my Vietnam visa exemption and then he asks about my employment contract in India. He sees my employment visa for India in my passport while I explain that I work in India and live in Vietnam one month on and one month off. He questions this and I say that I'm a Chief Engineer in the US Merchant Marine working on a Drillship. The CO says that explains a lot and approves the wife's B2 visa.

Apparently the CO didn't think it was unreasonable that you would want to show a new baby to the rest of your family.

Some VJ members told me that my intent doesn't matter but that's exactly what they approved the wife on was the intent of her family. What the wife and myself intend to do which was return to Vietnam as the wife's parents help care for the baby and I have to go to India for a work contract and being in Vietnam is just easier. On the flip side if the wife went alone I think she would have been denied. I also think we got lucky with the CO.

When we got outside I talked to the wife about what they asked and she said they only asked a dozen questions about why she wanted to go to the US and who she was traveling with and about my job. They asked about her I-130 on file which she told them it just got transferred and that she would be in Vietnam for the interview. The only paper they wanted to see was our son's US passport and my US passport. We didn't bring paperwork for the baby but the wife said we were both right outside hence the invite.

She did say a few of other applicant's would just ramble on and wined up hanging themselves in half truths or get asked the same question twice in which the answers changed. People are really unprepared for the double questions. My wife only answered the questions they asked. I'm convinced these CO's can smell out bullsh!t in a field full of cowsh!t. If part of your story doesn't add up or you don't interview well your boned.

At least this proves my point to the nay sayers that it is not worth trying. If you want to try for a B2 while your waiting go for it.

Congrats on the approval!!! Amazing here in Vietnam. I'll be the first to admit that I'm eating crow!

Thanks. The baby is always in a good mood. We got lucky on that front; he hardly ever cries but just laughs and smiles.

I got the idea of providing the wife with a letter from me stating to the consulate our intentions of returning to Vietnam after 28 days as I have to return to India for a work contract and the wife's family has been helping with the baby.

I still don't think you understand the thought process of the CO. I can relate to your ideas as I was the same way. Showing work contracts that would cause ME to return to Vietnam. However, it is just that. YOU have a contract to return to INDIA for work? Does this contract in any way state that your wife will return to VIETNAM?? NO. That is exactly what the CO will say. Been there done that. As the above poster said, So what if you guys go to the US for 28 days......and then decide to stay...what now??? Anyway you will have your answer soon and your wife's family in the US will be satisfied. If you do get an approval I hope you come here and rub it in our faces. Would be nice to see someone get approved, but just not going to happen work contract or no work contract. It isn't about you, it's about her. I know that no one can tell you different and you're hell bent on trying. There is no lack of effort on your part and that is great, it is just how the process is and how being from Vietnam, a high fraud country, has made things unfair for those of us who try to do things the right way.

If you bring your US Passport, then you can get inside with her. I think they mention that to prevent vietnamese citizen to get inside. My fiancee 's mother was staying outside because she is vietnamese citizen.

You should not bring your child going inside the Consulate because it is crowded and hot in the waiting room of Embassy.

Good Luck.

This is FALSE information. Doesn't matter what nationality you are, American, Vietnamese etc......you can NOT attend the interview with the person being interviewed for a tourist visa

This week my wife is going for the B2 interview at HCMC. The consulate web site says no extra people at the interview but I'm going with her with our baby. Does anyone no if the baby and I will have to wait outside or will they just let us in at this consulate.

Don't responded telling I'll get denied. That's not what I asked. It's only a $160 and I don't see the harm in trying. I got a new baby and the family in the US doesn't believe that the CR1/IR1 takes a year. At least a denial will keep the family in the US quiet for a while.

As I mentioned before on one of your other posts......I went done this exact same road you are about a year or more ago...

At that time I was NOT allowed into the Embassy to wait with my wife. My son and I waited at a coffee shop across the street. They have completely different rules for the tourist visa and the immigrant visa, which you can attend the interview. I was pretty mad they wouldn't let me into the Embassy to wait with her even though I am an American citizen with my US passport in hand. After I complained they said I could enter in to the US services area of the Embassy if I had some business to take care of, but I couldn't not enter into the area that my wife was having her interview. Anyway, good luck let us know the outcome.

Hi guys....

Luuke, your comment, "some of these prices sound pretty ridiculous considering that the cost of living in Vietnam is not as high as the U.S." made me laugh People tend to think Vietnam is so cheap. However, here in Saigon atleast, there is nothing cheap about it. Sure you can find a cheap hotel room or some food but when it comes to houses, cars or weddings it equals or exceeds U.S. prices. Also depends on the quality of wedding service you are wanting. Just as in the US you can have a wedding for as expensive or cheap as you would like.

I checked with my wife about more of the specifics of the services and prices we had. Remember I am not associated with any of these places. Just passing on the information of what we did for our wedding 3 years ago. I am sure prices are different now.

Pre-wedding studio photos, album, big picture Milan studio (http://www.milan.com.vn/en/about-us.aspx) = $275

Pre-wedding outside photos - photographer friends took and made album for free

Wedding dresses - Included for the studio photos. For the ceremony my wife had 3 dresses made not rented.

Tux -Included in the studio photos and then rented from Milan studio for wedding = $125

Photos AND video of the whole household ceremony AND reception venue party = ($600) (http://www.quochuyphoto.vn/alphacms/en)

Wedding reception venue Gala Royale (http://galaroyale.com.vn/?lang=en) and 20 tables = $3500 - $4000