CY & Evy

We filed the K1 after my first visit. The more times you visit the better, but I do not think it is a requirement. I would say it would be more important for you to be there for the interview than it is to make a 2nd trip back before the interview. You could get a co-sponsor I believe to help make the finances look better. Just make sure if you go down the co-sponsor route that they fill out the appropriate paperwork.

On 10/12/2017 at 8:43 PM, Mike & Tuyen said:

Thank you!  I am bringing that with me.  I appreciate your help and good wishes.  I will definitely update when I get back.

Wishing you the best of luck

Congratulations! That's great news!

On 8/28/2017 at 3:26 PM, poh said:

Hi Cy and Evy.

COngrats!

 

You mentioned you felt being there helped pass the visa interview.  Do you think her fluency in English language help her as well?

If the Vietnamese fiancee is not fluent in English, would that look negatively on her?

 

It's hard to say. While my fiancees English is pretty good the nerves got to her a bit once she started talking to the guy. She stuttered and couldn't quite get out what she wanted to say and I think the guy realized she was nervous and said one of the months in Vietnamese to her. I don't think her not being able to speak english fluently would be negative...

On 8/9/2017 at 11:11 AM, keixjil said:

Congratulation!!!!!! Wish to hear many good outcomes for fellow VJ members who have upcoming interviews.

@CY & EvyWhen do you think your fiance will fly over?  

We don't have an exact date yet, but she's thinking about October sometime.

Thanks everyone!

Hello! We had our visa interview today and we got approved! We wanted to leave a good post about how our interview went today so that other members may know what to expect when they attend the interview.

Our interview was scheduled for 8:05am and we arrived at the embassy about 6:30-6:40am. There was already a line of about 50 people...maybe more. We waited in line for about 20 mins until they started checking for interview conformation sheets, passports, and 1 picture. Once we got within the gates we had to wait in a smal room lined up for about another 20 minutes while they went over the instuctions for the next step. We were also given a sheet that would be used to mail the visa we have gotten approved.

They slowly brought small groups out of the small room for a security check where they would take all phones away and everyone would go through a metal detector. Once we passed through the secuity check we went into a big room where my fiancee had to stand in line to get her number finger prints taken. She needed her passport, 1 picture, and interview confirmation sheet. I was asked to sit down in the large waiting area to the right while she waited in line to finger prints and number. My fiancee waited in line for about 30 mins to get her number and finger prints and then joined me in the waiting area where we would wait for our number to be called.

The first time they called our number we provided all the documents they needed which included some items for example

• My support information
• ds160 confirmation
• noa2 copy
• my birthcertificate copy

The guy did ask me 3 questions when we were at the window together

• Have I been married before?
• Have you signed any paper for marriage before?
• Is this my first marriage?

After we provided him with some of the documents he told us to sit down and wait for our interview from windows 14-20.

We waited an hour maybe more and finally were called up for our interview. We approached the window together where he asked me my name and then told me to sit down and he would let me know if he needed anything from me. After i sat down my fiancee was sworn in to tell the truth and started asking her a few questons.

• How did you meet your fiance?
• When did you start dating?
• How did he propose?
• Did he go to college? 
• What was the name of it?

My fiancee did the interview in english and after those few questions he took a pink paper out and said that he approved the fiance visa. He gave us back some of our documentation without her passport and told her to go fill out the form to deliver her visa.

He did not ask for ANY of our pictures, other ducmentation, or proof relationship. It was just a few questions that lasted no more than 2 minutes and then we were done. I would like to believe me being there helped a lot and made the interview for my fiancee much easier.

My fiancee spent a lot of time putting together our documents together using clear folders and had our evidence seperated into two categories(Before engagement and after engagement). None of the extra documents or pictures were even necessary, but you never know and have to prepare for everything. I hope this helps some of you. If you have additional questions. Feel free to let us know and we will try our best to get that for you.

August dates opened up tonight. I should have taken a screenshot of the calendar for other members to see, but in panic and excitement we scheduled the interview haha. From memory it looked like interviews are not done on Wednesday and it looked like most of the dates were open for August. I took a big sigh of relief after we scheduled it. Thanks everyone!

On 7/6/2017 at 2:18 AM, elle.and.elle said:

We recentally scheduled our K-1 interview for the end of July and like yourself, only saw those dates available. I've heard that wait times for interviews in HCM are long so I booked the first available. I thought about waiting to see if something opens up in August because flights are much cheaper, but didn't want to risk the chance of not getting in until September or later. I haven't seen my fiancée since January so the extra money for flights in July is totally worth it.

 

Looks like our timelines are very similar. Let me know how things go. My fiancée just had her medical exam a few days ago. We're now waiting for the results, hospital in Hanoi said it would take a week for results. I recommend scheduling the medical right after you set your interview date.

I've taken a risk and booked my flight already for August. I called the call center in Virginia to ask about interview times and the only thing they could tell me was that the consulate has not opened up interviews for August yet and to keep checking back for when they open them.

It's been a little frustrating waiting for these interview dates to open. I guess if I wasn't planning to fly back it wouldn't be a big deal, but I can't wait till last minute to buy expensive plane tickets and take off work so we continue to check everyday multiple times a day to see if the interviews for August have opened. As it stands now, I'll be there from the 5th-16th so I imagine we should be able to get an interview in that time frame. *fingers crossed*

17 hours ago, Mike & Tuyen said:

Hi Everyone,  I know we still have a ways to go, but what site did you go to for seeing the schedule?  I checked the consulate website and I didn't see any scheduling tabs.  I'm just trying to get all of my ducks lined up so when September comes, everything will be set.  Thanks for the help.  We will be gong to the consulate in HCM.

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/vn/index.html?firstTime=No

I don't think you can see the schedule until after the ds-160 is complete and fee's paid.

We finished the DS-160 last week and were ready to schedule the interview last Thursday or Friday, but currently they only have a few days open at the end of July. We are trying to schedule the interview a week or two into August and have been checking daily to see if anything opens up. Does anyone know when the HCMC Consulate releases new interview days? My fiancee called the embassy and the lady only told her she sees the same dates we do online when we go to schedule. I guess I'm also wondering when August interviews open up does the entire month of August open up or do they release it week by week? Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the replies everyone. The NVC letter actually arrived today

Better late than never!

Hello,

It has been awhile since I have posted! Hope everyone is doing well. Just an update on us... I submitted the 129f in late February and while we were awaiting on the NOA2 I traveled back to Vietnam in April to spend some time with my fiancee. We ended up having a small engagement dinner with her close friends and family which will be nice to show the pictures at the interview.

I had a question regarding the NVC notification and how important it is for me to have it? I received the NOA2 hard copy in the mail on June 5th and was planning on waiting a few weeks before I contacted the NVC to get the case number. Yesterday my fiancee got a call from the embassy in HCMC confirming her address so they could deliver something to her and I was assuming it was going to be Packet 3. So after she told me that I decided to go ahead and call the NVC to get the case number and after checking the status it was already set to "Ready". Today the post office delivered Packet 3 to her house, but I still haven't received anything from the NVC saying we have been assigned a case number. Maybe it is still slowly making it's way to me or maybe it is lost. Since I have the case number and invoice ID # is there any reason as to why I need NVC notification?

I was kind of surprised it was moving this quickly. We should have the DS160 filled out within the next day or so and then will schedule the interview. I'm still planning to purchase my ticket and fly back for a week so I can be there with her for the interview. I'm pretty excited!

On 4/3/2017 at 11:42 AM, WandY said:

I've been to the Consulate in Saigon. It's a tough one. I saw a lot of visa denials, including K-1. Your future mother-in-law will probably be denied, but maybe it's worth the expense and time to try. She doesn't need to speak English. On another note, I highly suggest you attend the K-1 interview. It will help your chances - and it's quite an experience!

It's worth a try for sure no matter how dim it looks.

I plan on being there for the interview. It will give us the best chance. Hoping to get the NOA2 this month... luckily I'm taking a trip back to Vietnam next week to spend some time with my fiancée 😊

18 minutes ago, geowrian said:

K-3 is obsolete. It would be a CR-1 instead.

 

No. Sponsoring is not applicable for tourist visas. It's usually detrimental, actually. Being supported by a family member is a tie to the US. She must show her own ability to support herself while in the US. That said, she still needs to be truthful if they ask about any other family or why she's visiting.

17 minutes ago, KULtoATL said:

There's no such thing as sponsoring a B2. So really, it depends a lot on her own ability to prove her strong ties back in VN and that she will return to home. Given that her daughter is immigrating to the US and she has two sisters there too, the CO might think she has strong intentions to move over immediately with the B2.

Thank you both for the replies. I'm not sure where I got the idea of sponsoring from, but I kept reading on other websites about sponsoring a visitor.

I guess when the time comes we will get her mom to attempt the interview. Worst thing that could happen is they say no.

2 minutes ago, ConOfficer said:

Where are your fiance's siblings and father? What do they do for work? Do they have visas? 

 

If her other kids are non-visa'd, I would say no, 100%. No job, no family (apparently) = no ties. If she has other kids in Vietnam with professional jobs, that changes the calculus. 

 

It's only $160 and 3 minutes of her time to try (plus however long it takes to get to a consulate). 

Fiancee is an only child and her father is not involved in her life. Mother & Father = divorced. So it is just the two of them.

My mother-in-law has two sisters that live here in America and more brothers and sisters in Vietnam.

I know the odds are against us in this situation and it is something we had discussed before pursuing the k-1 visa vs the k-3 visa so that we could get married in Vietnam.

I guess my only other question would sponsoring my mother-in-law give her a better chance to pass the interview? Would it be better to have her sister here in America to sponsor her instead or is that a red flag?

On 3/31/2017 at 0:35 PM, WandY said:

The DS-160 is tricky. I sent money to VN via Western Union and she had to make payment in dong. There's probably a way to do it online, but it seems everyone just sends money and then the VN girlfriend/boyfriend converts it and pays. After that, the rest is pretty easy. Good luck!!!

Yes, online you can decide how the recipient receives the money. You can choose for them to receive in dong or USD.

Hello,

Does anyone have experience with trying to get your in-laws here to America to be apart of the wedding?

Assuming all goes well with the K-1 Visa and my fiancee gets to come to America, we would like my fiancees mother to be here when we have our wedding. Her mother has never been to America before and from what I hear it's really hard just to get a travel visa over here unless you can show some proof you will return to Vietnam (money/nice job/family).

It is just my fiancee and her mother living together. Her mother does not work and I know they do not have a lot of money. We would like to get her mom here permanently as a long term goal, but short term if possible we would just like her to be here for the wedding. What are our options for this? (short and long term)

Also, when they do the interview for her mother to get a visa to visit here is the interview in English or Vietnamese? Her mother speaks some English, but not a lot. Appreciate any help!!

Here is my packet I sent off. I didn't count the total # of pages, but I think I had about 22 pages worth of chatlogs (1 sided but 2 columns per page). I showed a day or two worth of conversation per month since we had met. I also included screenshots of facebook posts, facetime sessions, and screenshots of us video calling each other.

Some people send more some people send less, but I felt comfortable with what I had sent. Like others stated 600 pages is overboard

If you have any questions let me know!

Hello,

I had a question about what would happen if my fiancé would change jobs during the k1/129f process? We are getting close to sending off the 129F package and in that package you have to give your job history.

My fiancé is wanting to start looking for a new job within the next month or two, but we are worried about the paperwork if she changes jobs after we send the 129F package off. We don't really want to delay the paperwork and wait till she finds a new job, but is that the best thing to do if she is for sure going to change jobs?

Thanks for the help!!

Corey

On 1/3/2017 at 0:44 PM, Bryan and An said:

I emailed you the short video I mentioned showing our chat logs. If you want, I can also send you a link showing our entire I-129F packet. Just let me know

Thanks Bryan for the video. You put a lot of work into the packet!

6 hours ago, Ben&Zian said:

Sounds fairly straight forward.

 

No need to worry about showing of proof of engagement/ring.. that is not part of it. Good also to show bits from each month of chat, shows a timeline. This could also be done for the "proof of ongoing relationship" during the interview phase.

 

Also is good you are going to have another trip during the processing plus even trying to be at the interview.

 

Her having relatives in the US is not a red flag. It maybe would raise some questions if her relatives were the ones who had introduced the two of you; but since that is not the case it shouldn't cause any issue. My partner has an aunt who lives in the US, it was never brought up at all.

 

If you do an 'engagement ceremony', depending on how this is viewed traditionally in Vietnam, it could be a good thing to have and show photos, or  it could be a bad idea as in the consulate sees it as more of an actual wedding than just a party; but that is something other Vietnam members here will have to assist you with.

 

As for the rest again it seems pretty straight forward. Good luck!

Thank you Ben&Zian for the response. She has talked with her family and I think we are just going to bypass the engagement party and save the money.

6 hours ago, EandH0904 said:

So are you calling her your fiancé and comfortable writing your declaration to marry her without actually asking her? 

It's funny you ask because we had not really thought about it that way until reading your post. While we will both have to adjust calling each other fiancé, we are comfortable with that and making the declaration without the official proposal.

Hello,

I'm currently working on the I-129F packet (applying for K-1) and wanted to run my case by some of the experienced people here to get your opinion on if I might run into any problems with anything/red flags.

I know the process in Vietnam is a little tougher so all the extra documents are necessary. Is it true that the consulate in Vietnam will more than likely make a decision about our case before the interview just by reviewing the 129F package?

Some basic background of the relationship

• Met online in April (Tinder)
• First visit from December 3rd- December 11th
• No official proposal with ring (taking care of that on my next trip in April), but we both decided we wanted to start on this process
• Next trip is planned for April and I will do everything I can to be at the interview which I assume will take place sometime after April.
• No engagement ceremony planned at the moment
• Both never married, no kids.
• She has some Aunts and Cousins here in the US ( Is this a red flag?)

Documents I have gathered for the I-129F packet to show relationship requirements

• Copy of Passport Stamps/Visa
• Copy of airline receipts/ticket stubs for my trip to Vietnam and also the trip we took to Da Nang
• Receipts for Hotels in Vietnam, jewelry that I gave her
• Receipts for flowers I have sent to her
• Chat Logs taken from each month since we met along with screenshots of some of the conversations and our original Tinder messages
• Pictures of our trip together that include picture of me with her and her family and friends
• Notarized relationship timeline (US version). I didn't plan to send the VN question version because it asks questions about proposal which I will not have done by the time the 129F is sent. I will plan to have this VN question version for the interview.

I feel like our case should be straightforward as long as the interview questions don't contradict anything in the packet. If you see anything I am missing or would recommend it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

That's awesome! Congratulations!

Welcome. See the Vietnam regional forum for some specifics. Including a "relationship timeline" in the USCIS petition will probably help at the consular stage.

Thank you! I've read that Vietnam is one of the harder countries to get a visa from so it looks like we may have my work cut out for us. I guess it's good that I'm always up for a challenge

Hello everyone!

My name is Corey and will soon join many others on the K-1 Visa process to try and get my SO to the US with me. I live in Alabama, USA and she lives in Vietnam. I recently came back from our first visit and we decided we wanted to start on this process. It's kind of intimidating looking at all the requirements and documents, but I'm taking it slow and doing as much research as possible to make sure we have everything we need and all the documents filled out correctly. I've been lurking off and on and a lot of the information has been helpful so far. It has been interesting to read about other peoples experiences and what we may run into down the road. Wishing everyone else on their journey best of luck!