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Nice wedding Photos Charlie. Congrats!

Next time, you need to put on a traditional male "ao dai". My wife made me wear the traditional clothes and the people back in the states loved the special photos.

Good Luck on the Visa, it's sort of a journey..................

AHHH!!! the monkey suit...No way...My Vo didn't even ask me to wear it...she knew what I would think...LOL!!

What do I have to do to get on this list?

No pics of the wax HCM in his moseleum?

Yeah...like you can get a camera within 2 kilometers of that place LOL!!!

We got pictures of the outside of the building, but my wife was wearing a tank top when we stood in line and they made her go into the store and put on a shirt with sleeves before we went in. She came out swearing it was only a wax dummy in the coffin.

I thought he looked wax too.

Just wondering. Does Australia recognize Marriages from Las Vegas? Las Vegas courts do issue the license. I know they are recognize nationally and some places internationally. But what about Australia?

A license is a license is a licenese. I grew up 12 years in Vegas and I can tell you that when you get married there....it is valid like any other license. There is even a drive through to get married while sitting in your car.

No pics of the wax HCM in his moseleum?

Yeah...like you can get a camera within 2 kilometers of that place LOL!!!

Probably not the right area to post this, but it is about Vietnam so here it goes.

I managed to post a few photos of VN on my website. You can see them at www.charliebox.com.

1.) Monthly payment

2.) For a family investment

3.) Medical emergency

4.) For Tet New Year

Any other reasons?

Gosh, I hope I can get some retirement care for this in the year 2035?

In depth answer and comments:

I have never sent money to my Vo. She wouldn't accept it anyways. When I do go there...I give her 2000 or so to handle all my expenses while I am there so I don't have to deal with it. But whenever I come back she somehow manages to sneak 70% of the money back in my luggage.

Some VN familes will actually require you to provide certain things to the family in order for them to accept you. With Thanh, her family didn't want any of that. They just told me that they want both of us to be happy. In fact, the last time I went to Hanoi, her father told me before I left to the airport, that if I needed any money to ask mother for it and she will give it to me. I of course don't need it and told him thank you for the kind words and left it at that.

Thanh has a very good job in Hanoi. She is an HR manager at a company. She told me that the average person employed in VN will get around 60-100 a month. 150 is considered really good income.

The only time I have actually given Thanh any money is when be both purchased our wedding rings and suits and dresses. Thanh wouldn't accept me paying for it all and wanted to keep our relationship balanced by splitting it down the middle.

Dang --- I should be a fortune teller. Didn't I tell you you would get it soon?

Hey, there is no hope like an empty gut feeling that something is about to happen but truly nothing has or will convict you in the long run. Paranoid I am! Especially after reading these forums.

CharileBox, to answer your questions:

1. Proof of address from former spouse --- Rest assure that the CO will absolutely ask for this type of document. How you can obtain such document is simply your problem. They do not care. However, when they requested this on my case, I simply just wrote a sworn statement telling them where I think my former spouse lives and they were fine with it. I have mentioned this on a few posts before.

2. BC of yours and your fiancee's parents --- They will only ask for this when they suspect the two of you are related. If you two are from the same small town, have the same uncommon last name (Vu, Dinh, Ho ...), then you should prepare for it. Even in some cases, they will even ask for the BC of your ex's parents if they suspect your fiancee and your ex are related. Hope that helps.

So you just printed out a statement and sent it to Loan? Any certification to it, or something like that?

CharlieBox would you please post here when you recieve your NOA1 please? Thanks

Just to let you know I did get my Noa1

Am I missing something here or is it just one of those mysteries as to why they want proof of "utilities bills from my ex-wife to prove that we live at two difference address" and birth certificates of your parents?

Am I going to have to get this stuff too when it comes time?

Once again, freaked out confused member.

I asked about the inconsistant information that the consolate officers will ask. Like (Here you go Kevin and Loan) What are the previous addresses of your fiance(e)?

I still find this to be the most outragous thing to ask and make the fiance(e) provide. If they are validating if she knows about the ex's then just when they where married. But to dig up the past like that and then hand it over to your soon-to-be-wife, is crazy.

Just another twist of events that will further enrich the archives of VisaJourney. Isn't this place great?

Best of luck to you CharlieBox. You sound confident.

I'm passing along an excellent article written by an immigration lawyer who happens to pop in to VJ from time-to-time. His VJ name is ellis-island.

Link: Denials of Family-Based Immigrant Visas At Consulates And DHS Petition Revocations

In his article he mentions, "an approved petition is prima facie evidence of eligibility for an immigrant visa, unless a consular officer finds substantial evidence of ineligibility. More importantly, this evidence must have been unknown and unavailable to DHS at the time it approved the petition. That is the nearly the whole game for your client right there, in a few words."

He goes on to say, "PRACTICE TIP #1 - What the words generally unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval should mean to skilled immigration practitioners, is that they should inform DHS in advance, at the time of filing the petition, of any potential red flags a consular officer might spot in the case. If DHS approves the petition anyway, a consulate is not supposed to deny a petition for that same reason."

Best of luck!

STL_HCMC

Thank you STL_HCMC and the rest of you for your continuing support.

My lawyer was explaining this same thing the day I decided to hire him.

As a white American I am approximately 60% effecient in tiếng Việt (Northern), and have noticed how they talk and what they talk about when American's are around that they think cannot understand what they are saying. Most of them are generally nice, but the majority of them that you confront in their work environment instantly become commander and cheif of their respective positions. The arrogant attitude is sometimes too much to bear.

But I digress, Thanh is 4' 9" and I am 6' 2", I have heard very rude comments spoken to us while walking hand in hand together. The offenders don't know that I understand what they are saying and pratically rác rưởi (POOP) themselves when I respond to them. I guess it is true what they say....ignorance is bliss.

Nevertheless, if this visa doesn't go through, I will be moving to Vietnam perminently.

BTW, Anyone going to be in Vietnam December 12th to the 28th? If so I wouldn't mind if there were some other folks there that would like to join Thanh and I for our wedd......(errr..ummm party).

If you are interested in learning tiếng Việt, you can go to my website and view the online dictionary I created. http://www.charliebox.com

I have been to Hanoi several times, and have been to Saigon...in my opinion (and only my opinion) Hanoi is much more beautful and clean that Saigon. Even though very rarely do you run across other Americans there. In fact, I haven't in Hanoi...only ran across British and French.

Wow, just the opposite of my opinion. I thought no city could be more crowded than Saigon but I could hardly walk through Hanoi. Most of the inner streets seemed like they were half as wide as the one's in Saigon with just as many vehicles. Another thing is that it was much harder to find a nice restaurant in Hanoi, and it made me nervous that everyone is still wearing those flat army green helmets.

Yes the streets are narrow and crowded, but these are very nice areas because the city is much much older than Saigon so all of the streets are still the same streets for hundreds of years.

As for the military presence in Hanoi, yes there are too many of them...but what would you expect from any other captial.

I can tell you this for certain, you will not find any place better that makes Pho Bo than in Hanoi. They are famous for their Pho. Ask any SVN they will tell you.

CharlieBox, so... you marry a commmunist party mmeber, if any1 of us ever got into trouble with the law in vietnam, we know who to call now

HEHE ok...her and her family are probably one of the better families that i have met in my life. They are very soft spoken and very calm about everything. They don't talk like radios and don't argue about anything. I was very shocked when I hung around them for 2 weeks straight.

I will go there in December and marry my Vo without paperwork.

CharlieBox,

They will, for sure, ask for it if you had been married before. Of course, I received absolutely no assistance from my former spouse. So, I wrote a statement saying where I thought she was at that time, then I had the statement notarized. They took the statement without any problems. One of the main reason why they ask for this is to determine the legitimacy and merit of your case.

Maybe I am missing something, I still don't get it. I mean, I have been married 2 other times to US citizens, we are divorced....what more is there that needs to be said except for the divorce paperwork. Are you telling me I have to track down all these old memories and get in touch with these people to get thier address for Thanh so she can tell them where they live? I am not sure how they can prove legitimate or not by my fiancee knowing the address of my ex's or not. How retarded.

Dalegg, thanks ... You just saved me some typing here

Kevin,

Why did they want Loan to know your ex's prior addresses? What is that all about? Sounds sort of silly to me. I mean, what? they expect her to have a relationship with them too? LOL.

My take on this, they will issue Visa for members of the communist party for visiting, touring, studying, business. But not sure about immigrating. If your lawyer can assure you he has done case in VN where the beneficiary is Norht Vietnamese Communist Party Member (Dang Vien Dang Cong San Viet Nam) some of the vietnamese will call them Viet-Cong (very offensive name), and the beneficiary has arrived and lived in the US. Then you have nothing to worry about, just making sure. We are a bit worry for your situation.

Good luck

Yeah, saying VC is a very big no no...might get something cut off for that. I am not worried about it at all. Besides, I have set my mind on the assumption that if none of this K-1 visa stuff works, I will perminently move to Hanoi. We are young (me 32, her 30) and have saved a bit only in my life so bringing that money there and sort of retiring on it is a possible option I have.

I have been to Hanoi several times, and have been to Saigon...in my opinion (and only my opinion) Hanoi is much more beautful and clean that Saigon. Even though very rarely do you run across other Americans there. In fact, I haven't in Hanoi...only ran across British and French.

CharlieBox,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but membership in a totalitarian party is grounds for inadmissability (denial of a visa).

More specifically, here is what the INA law states:

212(a)(3)(D)(i): In general, any immigrant who is or has been a member of or affiliated with the communist party or any other totalitarian party domestic or foreign, is inadmissable.

The law goes on to list exceptions, like joining when underage, joining because of a job, or if the person is not deemed a threat to the US. You can read more about this at www.state.gov, follow the links to the visa section and the subsection called "inadmissabilities and waivers".

I do not know the HCMC Consuate's policy regarding communist party members, or of any cases where this came up. It came up in one of the threads here on VJ, but I'm not sure we know anything conclusive. Maybe some other VJ members know something about this. Check the HCMC website. To me, the law reads quite broadly between inadmissablity or exception, so it will be up to the Conoffs and who knows what they will say.

This will be something you will need to deal with before her interview. I wish you good luck with it.

My lawyer has brought several clients with fiancee as former party members here on a k-1 visa. He says this is a moot point. He goes on to say that Vietnam doesn't have a totalitarian regime. He says that Saddam H. had a totalitarian Regime....(killing political opponents, killing uprisings...etc) That is the sort of totalitarian that is described in that INA law.

Technically is part of it.

Yodrak stated it himself, "...in this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law."

Technically, yes, what Yodrak said is absolutely true.

However, technically, if one is married traditionally for the sake of family and friends, and not married in accordance with Vietnamese law (i.e. no marriage registration), then technically that couple is not married for the purposes of US immigration law.

But at the same time, Yodrak is completely correct when stating, "Why say anything at all? One should carry their gun unloaded, not cocked and pointing at their groin."

CharlieBox,

It looks well and deep that you got the further opinion on this topic that I suggested in my earlier post!

STL_HCMC

STL_HCMC and CharlieBox,

If one is married one is not eligible for a K1 visa. In this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law. Nothing 'technical' about it - you are or you are not.

Either way, be ready to prove it should questions arise.

Yodrak

Read your entire story. WOW!!! DRAMA to the hilt...should be a movie man.

I wonder if Thanh being North Vietnamese and being a communist party member will affect her in her interview. I have been around VN for nearly 4 years now. Been to Saigon and Hanoi several times. In my experience, there are quite a few south VN that still dislike the NVN. They can tell them apart from South because the accent. My point being, if the interviewer is a SVN, would that person treat Thanh any different? Hmmm....interesting question to ask.

OH!!! forgot to ask you STL_HCMC, what was the reason behind them wanting your wife to give them previous addresses of your ex's?

My lawyer called today and said We got the NOA1 today. He is sending me the NOA1 in the mail. Feel like I can go buy a lotto ticket today or something.

CharlieBox --- It took only 7 days for me to get my NOA1 but it took me almost 2 years to get Loan over here. Just prepare yourself and your fiancee mentally for the journey ahead. It could be fast, it could be long ... You never know.

2 years????? it says your interview took 230 days. Am I Missing something here?

Yeah, they were not granted the visa after the interview. He was placed in AR for about a year.

What were the reasons for the Administrative Review?

CharlieBox --- It took only 7 days for me to get my NOA1 but it took me almost 2 years to get Loan over here. Just prepare yourself and your fiancee mentally for the journey ahead. It could be fast, it could be long ... You never know.

2 years????? it says your interview took 230 days. Am I Missing something here?

GROUP HUG!!!

Nothing to see here, move along.

I know tt has been 14 days and that I shouldn't worry until day 30 comes, but I am still a bit curious about it. Government is sooooo damn slow.

We will get married "Have a party" before the K-1 Visa. We will not do any paperwork. This wedding...errr umm party will be just that. It will have all the traditional elements to it, just that we won't file any paperwork with the government (like the traditional old way before paperwork registration).

My Vo is a North Vietnamese, so I doubt they would find out about wedding (Party) invitations. What say you?