macekid421

Doesn't make sense to me, but better safe than sorry.

That's a good point about dressing really differently from my partner. I guess we'll both just wear what we wear on normal days!

I've read a lot of other posts about what the beneficiary should wear at the interview and my partner will definitely dress accordingly. But I don't possess formal clothes as I'm just abroad as a student. I was just going to wear shorts and a textless t-shirt. I'm not even required to be at the interview to begin with so I don't think it should be an issue, should it? By the way this is for the HCMC consulate in Vietnam.

Thanks

It's really bizarre how inconsistent they are. People's lives can be majorly upset if they fail the interview because the government randomly decided not to forward the evidence. I guess I'll just bring another copy of the bonafide evidence I already sent in be safe. Honestly this whole process seems like a joke/ below US government standards.

Do both.

Why do you say that? If the NVC gets the bonafide marriage evidence it'll certainly get sent to the consulate right? Is there a risk it won't?

Unless you're filing electronically, they don't accept electronic storage devices. They'll send it back to you without even opening it.

Since I've been together with my partner for 5+ years, I faced the same problem. I just submitted and old email correspondence along with a letter explaining that we had literally tens of thousands of pages of chat logs and I could bring them to the interview if necessary. In retrospect I should have included samples of our chat logs from each month. I'll bring them to the interview, but I do regret not sending them in with the original package.

We found out, after a bad interview, that the CO only legally has to evaluate your case based on what you sent with the original application. So, if you sent very little evidence with your initial application, it is almost worthless to bring more to the interview because they have already decided based on the application.

Thanks. I guess that means we should send in any additional evidence to the NVC with the AOS/IV package rather than wait to bring to the interview.

Thanks! You lucked out getting the California service center. It took us twice as long to get to the NVC through the Nebraska center....

We found out, after a bad interview, that the CO only legally has to evaluate your case based on what you sent with the original application. So, if you sent very little evidence with your initial application, it is almost worthless to bring more to the interview because they have already decided based on the application.

Sorry to hear your interview didn't go well. The initial package covered all the bases but HCMC is one of the most stringent. We're going to bring more because based on what other ppl are saying, they'll probably find SOMETHING to nitpick.

I'm not entirely sure what "front-loading" consists of but I just followed the directions and included as much evidence of our relationship as possible. I've been living in Vietnam for five years with her (since I graduated from college). I feel like they'd have to be crazy to think we weren't legit but then again I didn't work officially while here so they might think I was getting paid by her family to stay here? That's my only concern.

Wow, thanks a lot for that truly helpful insight! I really appreciate it and will message you when it gets closer to the interview date. I take it you passed. Congrats!

I don't know how it is at your embassy, maybe read the reviews from others here who have gone through the same embassy? But in London the interviews are a few minutes long and despite taking armfuls of documents and evidence, applicants are almost never given the opportunity to show anything they have brought with them.

Yeah I'll definitely do that. I guess the point of this thread was more about that misinformation I got from the call center. Thanks all for the help.

One thing they were right about - the CO has more or less made up their mind before the applicant gets to the embassy. Pretty much like a job interview.

So anything extra we turn in at the interview will be more or less pointless?

the callcenter isn't called the missinformation line for nothing...

All the info you send goes with the case. You SHOULD however bring more info- ie continued relationship evidence from when you field to interview, perhaps more photos as you don;t want to send a ton with the initial petition etc.

Wow that's pretty scary that they could be so ignorant about such a key aspect of the process. We front-loaded pretty hard but there are a few things we've since learned we should have sent (like a relationship timeline, not only a summary). I'll call the NVC once more to see if I can't talk to a supervisor or something. Thanks a lot for the advice.

I asked the NVC customer service people on several occasions and they said they don't. It sounded too ridiculous to believe, but they assured me I had to come up with another bonafide marriage evidence packet and bring it to the interview. Furthermore I've read stories (maybe this is just for Vietnam?) of people going to the interview and dropping off their evidence, then waiting for several hours to be called up.

Apparently I'm missing something major because there seems to be a contradiction afoot. The USCIS forwards exact ZERO of your bonafide marriage evidence to the NVC but I've heard that the consulate officer makes up their mind before you even walk in the door. How can they do this if they don't even see your pictures, chat logs, etc until you arrive for the interview??? What exactly does the CO see before you arrive for the interview? Sorry if this is in the wrong subforum. First time posting here. Thanks for your advice.

Hey Tyler. I'm doing mine in HCMC as well. Could you tell me how many days it took between when you submitted your AOS/IV package and the date of your interview? Glad you passed btw!