artseth

20 minutes ago, Scandi said:

What 90 days are you talking about? The i-94 expiration? The requirement is to marry within 90 days, not file for AOS. It's recommended to file asap after the wedding but it's not necessary. Some even wait for years.

 

She should have asked for a copy of the medical report or at least the DS-3025 knowing that you need one for the AOS.

Hi, Scandi,

They convinced her at the HCM medical office that she only needed the yellow form and tried to scold her repeatedly for asking for anything else.  It was really their fault and not her fault.

The 90 days I'm referring to is about her visa.  After 90 days it expires.  I'm assuming she can't walk around legally in the US with a foreign passport with an expired visa.  Maybe I'm wrong?  Isn't there an interim status as the 485 is being processed that changes her status to something like Pending Legal Permanent Resident or something like that?

Hello Friends,

First, I'd like to convey my appreciation for those of you that helped me trudge through the K1 process by answering my questions and adding to the content of the site that ultimately played a major role in getting ,my then finance, to the States.  We are now happily married and moving forward with the AOS paperwork!  We had a rough experience at the interview with a blue slip and a story, that I'll convey later.

On to my question (two parts)-- Can we simply mail and submit the I-485, etc. to get the 90-day K1 clock off our backs, knowing there will probably be a I-693-related RFE in our futures? Or does a RFE simply delay getting out of the 90 threshold?

Question part 2-- If my wife did not receive a DS-3025 and only a yellow vaccination report in HCM, how will we know what her vaccination history is, given the DS-3025 was sent, sealed, with her other medical info to USCIS.  We could go to the Civil Surgeon to have him/her administer the other needed vaccines, but there are no records of shots (polio, etc.) that she was given as a kid.  I'm just confused about DS-3025 and I-693 stuff, despite the fact that I've been reading about this for the last couple of hours. 

Thanks again, in advance!

-S

Thanks a million, frontier. Now it makes sense.

Fantastic. Thanks, Jim.

Do you know which vaccinations are needed? The people involved with her medical check said she didn't need any.

All,

Everything has been going smoothly with my K1 app and my fiancé has her interview scheduled for Dec. 8th. She just had her medical check in HCM and they told her she didn't need any vaccinations for a K1. They said it only applied to K3. How could this be? Could any of you let me know what vaccinations she should get before her interview?

Also, I'm getting ready to send all the paperwork to her through Fed Ex, INCLUDING my original birth certificate. I'm VERY nervous about this. I've been putting this off because I'm petrified of it getting lost in the mail. Any words of wisdom involving this?

Lastly, I only got one document notarized-- our history letter. Should anything else be notarized?

Thanks a million!

-S

Thanks again for the feedback. My case was accepted on Thursday so I'll continue to update my timeline as things move forward.

Hello again friends,

I'm getting ready to send everything out to the Texas lockbox this week and getting everything rolling!

It's clear from the forum that I should make two identical copies of my I-129f package before mailing it to Texas. My questions are mainly about what I understand to be recommended for the 129f package versus what is taken to the interview. Questions below:

-- forum suggests about 5 photos with names , date, and location written on the back but then I'm reading about suitcases worth of proof of the ongoing relationship being taken to the interview. Is the I-129F package a paired down version of what one should take to the interview in terms of photo evidence? 5ish photos is good for the package and then bring the kitchen sink to the interview?

-- same question but in regards to correspondence. I'm reading about thousands of pages of documentation taken to the interview but the forum suggests only a couple of examples of each type of communication (Skype, email, etc.) that span the length of the relationship. Again, is the package a paired-down version of what should be taken to the interview?

--should the printouts of online conversations be complete for each conversation or does it really matter? 100 pages about what each of us did for the day, what we ate for lunch and how much we miss each other or is a page or two from each conversation alright? (100 page is a joke in case you didn't get it)

--I read somewhere (can't remember where) about specific types of folders, paperclip location, and every other obsessive and specific stationary variation that's preferable. If this matters, can someone be so kind as to post or PM a picture of their folder arrangement? Or maybe send me a link for this if I missed it?

--Lastly, I mail my fiancé one of the exact copies of the 129f package for her to take to the interview. What do I do with the second copy?

Thanks in advance friends! Only all of you know my excitement and impatience with this whole process.

-S

You are going to need an engagement ceremony because Vietnam is a high-fraud country and the consular officers know the Vietnamese customs pretty well (big engagement ceremony/reception, big wedding, etc.) They will expect to see pics of the engagement ceremony.

I'm back in the U.S. now so there's no way I'm going to have a ceremony before I apply. We have plenty of pictures together and we Skype and text every single day so I believe there would be ample proof that our relationship is legit. Also, she's Catholic so I'm wondering if the ceremony is more of a Buddhist tradition? Or is it just a Vietnamese tradition in general?

Thanks again everyone! I'm feeling pretty confident I can do all of this myself given how well everything is spelled out on this site. I'll post again if I have specific questions.

Please DO NOT DO AN ENGAGEMENT CEREMONY!!!!!! I say this because all the time on here we are reading how people have engagement ceremonies and how the embassy thinks that it is Traditional Marriage Ceremony so the people are denied. They then have to either appeal or get married and file again as a CR1.

The second one is ok. My wife lived up in the mountains of the Philippines so she just choose to pick up her passport w/visa rather than wait an extra week.

That's good to know about the ceremony.

As far as the lack of a street address, my concern is more about filling out the paperwork correctly and without rejection if the US officials don't see a proper address.

Thanks so much everyone! My case should be very simple given that neither one of us have ever been married and there's no criminal anything going on.

I thought as much but I was worried I was missing something.

My only concerns:

-- we didn't have an engagement ceremony when I was in Vietnam.

-- she lives in the sticks and doesn't have a proper street address.

You do not need an attorney. If you can read and follow directions, you can do it all on your own and you cannot bribe your way through. I initially thought I would need to get an attorney, after reading the USCIS site and looking at the forms I decided to do it myself. The members of VisaJourney were all very helpful along the way. I was able to use their experiences to anticipate my next step. I was able to get my finance to the US in less than 6 months. Submission date 10/31/2015, arrival in US 4/10/2016. We are now happily married and living in the US. No more loss of sleep or facetiming. YAY!!!

Very happy for you both! I'm hoping it's the same with me.

Hello Friends,

I'm new at this and I've been reading this website for hours/days trying to learn as much as I can. Forgive me if this is addressed elsewhere, but haven't been able to find it.

Should I hire an agency or lawyer to help my with the K1 process? I live in the U.S. and my fiancé lives in Vietnam.

I've read in some threads that bribes are expected. I can't seem to figure out what step of the process this would come into play.

Also, any recommendations about specific agencies/lawyers if I should go that route? Hire someone in Vietnam or in the US? Any ballpark figure that would outline what I should expect to pay?

I feel like I can do all of this myself (thanks to the info posted here) but I'm willing to pay someone if it expedites things.

Thanks in advance!