usmsbow

The blue letter is very clear--gather and submit all of the documents requested, follow the instructions exactly to the letter.  There seems to be something in the case file that a supervisor was concerned about.  The sooner the documents they want are submitted, the less time you will have to wait for a final decision.  Be very thorough and complete, don't leave anything out, go above and beyond with evidence.  Vietnam is one of the countries with a history of immigration fraud, I recall one big case in Houston a while back, here's a link.  Hopefully you can overcome their concerns and eventually get approved.  Good luck!
 
 https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/mastermind-behind-houston-based-marriage-fraud-scheme-sentenced-to-10-years/#:~:text=Local News-,Mastermind behind Houston-based marriage fraud scheme,to 10 years in prison&text=HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM) —,dollars in fines on Thursday.

TBH, I haven’t updated mine. Mine says with work authorization only, but my GC is work authorization. I will do it after my naturalization ceremony, which seems to be a semi common thing, whether it’s right or wrong, it just is. 
 
The SSA really are the lowest common denominator of government agencies. 

I think you just had incompetent people at SSA office. 

Occam’s razor states that the simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex.  I think overstay is exactly why she was denied..
Hopefully, it wasn't due to some inadmissibility. 

Hmm, before you become completely judgmental and assume - she was only in the US for 4 hours past the “90 day” timeframe. Excuse me for thinking that it wouldn’t be enough to deny a new ESTA.
 
On top of that, phoning the ESTA centre we’ve been told that it likely wasn’t the reason for denial. We have a K1 visa processing so kindly don’t respond with a half assessed answer. Thanks.  

You are right that it's not an immigration issue. However...
 
The company I work for recently found out that a $90K salary Customer Service Manager working remote was working a second full time job. Actually, it was the other company that found out and contacted our HR department... Guess how many jobs she had the next day? Yup, none. This is the typical outcome with these situations. The assumption is that they are not dedicating the appropriate amount of time to either job since both companies likely operate during "normal" business hours. This is very different than a full time professional moonlighting on the weekends as a bartender.
 
I'm not judging, just trying to give good advice.

Nothing to do with USCIS.
 
Everything to do with the terms of employment of the 2 companies.

I don't think USCIS cares about the agreements! They just will make sure you have no tax dues!

You do need to read both company's policy and/or your contract if u signed one
Either of them could have a stipulation about "outside work" especially if they are in competition for any contracts

1.  Yes.
2.  No.
Your work is a private matter between you and your employers.  There is no impact on your immigration status.

I suspect she would be fine and a US B2 visa is a valid substitute visa for Mexico, however.... My wife was refused entry, threatened if she would not sign some Spanish document and deported when she tried to go to Cancun with her 5 year multiple entry Japan visa in her Philippine passport.  There was no question that the multiple entry Japan visa was valid for entry to Mexico.  Mexican immigration were fine with that.  But as they will remind you, the decision to admit someone or not is made at the border. We assume my wife would have some kind of ban in Mexico now although it's irrelevant because I don't think there is any way you could drag her into another plane headed to Mexico.  The attempted Cancun trip was a rather traumatic experience from her Philippine passport holding perspective.  In fact by far the worst travel experience ever and only problem with immigration out of 24 countries visited.

Gotta admit, this is how i feel about the interview date next month.

You do know that F1 students have the ability to change universities, don't you?
You do know that once you marry and file for AOS, you can drop out of school to be with your spouse if you wanted to work on your marriage?
If you're ROCing now, it means that you AOSed at least two years ago. You could have switched universities or even drop out of school if you wanted to be with your wife. You're well past that stage now!

You have to marry before you can do anything 

You might be right, but Nigeria and PI do not receive equal scrutiny. 

No that’s not how SS works.
 
SS is funded by inflows from SS taxes.  When inflows exceed outflows, SS invests the surplus into the SS trust fund. When outflows exceed inflows, the trust fund is drawn down.
 
What is true is that in 10 years or so, the trust fund will be gone. After that, benefits will still be paid but if inflows exceed the entitled benefits, the benefits will be reduced.
 
As long as there are tax paying workers, the system will pay benefits.
 
per your link:
 
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html
 
“The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivors benefits, will be able to pay scheduled benefits on a timely basis until 2034, one year later than reported last year. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits.”

There are also temporary work visas - think like camp counselor or ski lift operator.  That would allow you to spend some time in the US and see what you think of living here.  Here's an example:
https://j1visa.state.gov/programs/camp-counselor

My fiancé had his interview today. I went with him. The DR consulate encourages (while not required) the sponsor to be there. A guy at a window today was asked why his fiancé was not in attendance. He answered truthfully, “she couldn’t make it because she was unable to take time off of work”. While his visa was ultimately approved, I noticed that he was asking him more of the hard hitting questions, like “how much money does she make a year?” “What side of the bed does she sleep on?” “How many years has she worked at her current job?” Followed by several more questions. He was at the window for an extended amount of time, while my fiancé was asked 3 extremely easy questions and I was asked about the city I am from and if I’ve ever been married and we were out of there in 3 minutes. I think this is more consulate specific than a general synopsis. 

Yeah not seeing the analogy with an employer petition.
 
If an embassy allows petitioners, i take that as a strong signal that petitioners should attend.
 
Agree with OP that coming to the fiancée’s country for moral support is good and it will help her case if the CO asks when was the most recent meeting. 
 
 

I think this could be true, but its possibly quite consulate-specific.  There are certain consulates we hear about that expect the petitioner to be present in-country, even if they are not allowed inside during the interview.

Why? K-1 is predicated on there being a bonafide relationship.
The beneficiary will be bringing an I-134 and a claim (such as an employment verification letter) that the petitioner is employed. So even if not asked, whoever attends the interview needs be candid that the petitioner has no income.

One "trick" I learned when writing CV for job applications in US - you do have to customize when you respond to a job ad. Try to use the keywords in the ad in your CV for that particular job. This helps a lot to get through the ATS (Automated Screening) software, and helps to land your resume to the HR recruiter.

Really recommend working with a recruiter. You can try to message them yourself on LinkedIn, there are so many out there. There might also be recruiters/staffing agencies in your city you can contact.

Have you had anyone look over your resume and get their feedback? That's what my wife did. Edit: apparently you have done this too.
 
Have you reached out to temp agencies? My wife's first two years of work experience was through those agencies. Not ideal, but easy way to get some American work experience on your resume. Also another way to get feedback on your resume.
 
Engineering is always in high demand, and the US has a reputation for having too few of them. If you're not getting many responses, then maybe something is "amiss" on your resume. HR looks for keywords, and if they aren't there, your resume is tossed aside.
 
This is similar to my wife's experience. Her first jobs here were data entry and the like, and now she's a manager making 4x her first temp jobs several years ago.
 
 

I agree that you need to make it very clear (on your resume and in your cover letter) that you are authorized to work in the US. Especially in California, employers will likely receive lots of applications from people who are hoping to be sponsored for a visa.
 
Also, consider applying for jobs that you are overqualified for. It would help to get some work experience in the US. The great thing about jobs in the US compared to my experience in Europe, is that it is easy to climb up to better paid positions when you show that you are good at your job. I started 5 years ago at an entry-level position, and in the past few years I have received a promotion and several raises; I now make almost double that initial salary.
 
Good luck!