JasonGG

If I remember correctly, you said earlier that you front loaded you application.  You'll want to bring new letters of intent for each of you to the interview.  Prepare a "family tree" as some couples are asked for it including a VJ member fairly recently in this forum.  We provided one that included grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, and siblings with birth and death dates, addresses, and phone numbers.  When we applied (2017) and interviewed (2018) there were several VJ members in the Vietnam forum who had difficulty and received blue slips, home visits, and extended administrative processing.  We corresponded with many of them and even though they had a difficult time getting their K1 or CR1 in Vietnam, everyone we talked to at that time eventually got approved.

When I attended the interview with my fiance, we brought a LOT of paper in two 6 inch, clear folders that included emails, receipts, chat logs, photos, travel itineraries, airline tickets, etc. for the time between our application and interview. I had no expectation that anyone wanted to see it.  We brought that paper to give the appearance that we were ready to provide them with anything they could possibly ask for.  The evening after the interview, we shredded it all at our hotel's business center.  Don't bother with the translation of your chats.  If they really want to read them, they have the expertise nearby to read them in Vietnamese.

I found that some of the best advice came from the HCM City consulate reviews.  I can only share my experience from 2017-18, but you will get the most up-to-date advice and recommendations from these reviews -

https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Vietnam&page=1&dfilter=5&topic=

Jason

Just wanted to provide an update . . . USCIS tier 2 called this morning.  She confirmed that yes, we need to hold on to my son's 10-year green card even though he has a U.S. passport now.  The passport proves that he is a U.S. citizen to the State Dept. and most federal agencies, BUT it does not prove legal entry into the United States.   The State Dept. computers have recorded him as a citizen, but the USCIS system has not.  She recommended he carry the green card in his passport until he receives the certificate of citizenship.  The certificate "may be needed" when applying for financial aid or dealing with social security.

Ugh . . . just when we though USCIS was behind us and now we have another step to complete!

Thanks everyone for you responses.  They were very helpful. - Jason

3 hours ago, OldUser said:

Do not throw it away!

 

Either put it in a drawer for the record and never touch it again until asked OR return to USCIS.

 

Does the kid have certificate of naturalization?

 

I wouldn't do anything about GC until certificate is in hand.

 

Passport sometimes is not sufficient to prove US citizenship.

No, he does not have a naturalization certificate.  Just his US passport.

My wife and her son were permanent residents, but when my wife became a U.S. citizen, her son acquired citizenship through her and received his U.S. passport 6 months ago.  Last week, his long-overdue 10-year green card arrived.  I called USCIS today to ask what we do with the card and the representative only scheduled me for a "non-urgent" return email or call in 30 days.  She added that I may have to call back and submit a new 30-day request when the deadline passes.

I found a couple very old posts saying that USCIS "should be dead to us" now that my wife and her son are citizens.  Since USCIS was very strict about having the cards returned at the citizenship swearing in ceremony, do we need to return this to someone or simply throw it out? 

Thanks - Jason

Congratulations to you and your wife.  Glad you were able to find someone to watch the baby.  Good luck on the rest of your journey - Jason

You’ll be fine.  Bring it to the interview.  The ceremony doesn’t seem to be as important now as it was years ago. - Jason 

Congratulations!  Best of luck to both of you - Jason

My son got a new blue passport in March and it only shows the province also. - Jason 

4 hours ago, 808Bryan said:

Thanks. Though the info you have replied with is not entirely correct. The interview appointment letter we received, states what you guys mentioned, but also says the petitioner can accompany as well. I stumbled upon someone's post of their experience at the HCMC consulate while attending their wife's interview, but it's unclear if they brought their baby in or if there was just some issue with some docs with the baby info on it.. so, I'm just hoping to get a clear answer from someone who might have experience with HCMC consulate allowing a baby in that's not being interviewed.

Yes, you can - and you are encouraged - to accompany your fiance to the appointment in Vietnam.  There were lots of couples and families having visa interviews with infants when I attended with my fiance.  Most were pretty unhappy and noisy after a few hours in that waiting room. 

Best of luck to you - Jason

Great!  You have nothing to worry about.  

2 minutes ago, ToNhi said:

@JasonGG Thank you so much! To you and your wife! I'm Vietnamese-American but not very fluent. 😂

Good luck to you and your fiancé.  Just making sure . . . Did you file any official papers with the government?  If not, you are fine.  You are definitely only engaged.

We submitted dam hoi photos when we applied for our K1 and the consulate expected to see them in 2017/18.  If it comes up , just say that was the florist’s andfotion and you did not have a wedding ceremony after the engagement ceremony.  They can confirm you didn’t submit papers for a marriage if they want.

Best of luck to you.  It is a long and stressful process.  Be patient, visit each other again if you can, and continue to collect as much documentation as possible.  

Jason

Oh, my wife just said that means engagement AND wedding ceremony on the same day.  I don’t think you should resubmit, but prepare to explain it at the interview.

The sign is good.  It confirms that it’s your engagement ceremony and not a wedding.  
 

When I was scheduling for my wife and later her son, we checked Friday 12-1:00am U. S. Eastern time (noon to 1pm embassy time).  In 2018, the embassy seemed to load new dates every Friday around that time and they were gone in  1-2 hours.

Jason

On 3/16/2023 at 11:21 PM, Helmut & Bee said:

My wife applied for her passport on 8 November 2022, and received her passport on 5 January 2023. We still have not received her Naturalization Certificate of any of the other documents back. How long does this typically take?

 

Thank you,

 

Helmut.

Did your wife get her documents?  We have only waited a couple weeks for the return of my wife's naturalization certificate, but came here looking for others' experience getting documents back.  Thanks - Jason

On 6/22/2023 at 4:51 PM, *FishF00D* said:

 

What a ride -- today I've been rescheduled for July 27th at the same office, which is in direct conflict with my travel plan (July 21-29th).

Is pre-scheduled international travel a valid reason to request rescheduling? 😕

Short answer- Yes.  Follow the instructions to reschedule on the interview letter.

My wife was in a similar situation this past January with a naturalization interview and approval 10 days before a planned overseas trip.  She told the USCIS interviewer about her travel at the interview.  Although the interviewer made a note on the account of our travel, we still got a ceremony confirmation letter 2 days before we left.  The letter notes that pre-planned travel IS a valid reason to reschedule.  We sent a letter requesting a new ceremony date along with the original scheduling letter and proof of travel (plane ticket confirmations from months earlier).  We asked for a date after our return.  As instructed we sent this to the field office where the ceremony was scheduled.  Within a week - while we were overseas - her online status changed to "ceremony cancelled / to be rescheduled."

Soon after we returned from travel, we got a letter confirming her rescheduled ceremony.  No problems at all. 

I read that some suggested traveling on a naturalization certificate and green card.  Your green card is no longer valid as soon as you take your oath.  At the ceremony, they will require you to surrender it.  (Two people at my wife's ceremony were denied the oath and rescheduled because they did not bring their green cards with them to surrender.)  The USCIS agent specifically told my wife that the naturalization certificate would not be acceptable for travel.  You must have a US passport after taking the citizenship oath.

Just an FYI - my wife applied for her US passport in March.  You will need to send your original naturalization certificate with the application.  Approaching week 13 and still waiting for the passport and return of her documents.

Jason

9 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Just had a phone interview with the consulate. They called me 

Did they give any indication what - if any - issues they have with your case?  Hope it will be resolved quickly. - Jason

2 hours ago, stringpuller said:

This waiting is really nerve racking. 

Is it a really bad sign that they did not keep her passport at the 221g appointment? 

They  collected family tree papers and ex spouse information. Thats it. 

They probably didn't keep her passport because it doesn't have enough time on it for her to leave the country.  I am assuming they are going through their approval process, but will contact her to supply a new passport.  You don't want them to stick her visa into a passport she can't use!

On 5/30/2023 at 11:09 AM, stringpuller said:

Hi yes she did another one on May 19th. 

Now the question of the passport expiry in September. 

In Vietnam do they take your old passport when you renew it? 

I read here that she could copy all pages, take the copies to 221g appt while renewing passport.

 

Doesn't the passport number need to match the DS260? And will they ask to update the DS260? 

 

Thank you

 

From experience . . . she will need to have a new passport to leave Vietnam if it is expiring in September.  My son had 5 months and 3 weeks left on his Vietnamese passport when we tried leaving Vietnam in February.  He was not permitted to leave even though we showed his green card.  They were enforcing the 6-month requirement strictly.  No negotiating.  It took 3 weeks to get his new ID (required because he's 16) and then passport expedited . . . and a lot of "fees!"  Without the fees, it would have been 2+ months. Airport officials in Hanoi were not interested in negotiating the rule. 

There were 2 options for the new passport.   If you are in a hurry, get the one without the chip since those take longer.  He did not get his old passport back and the new number is different from the old one.  Luckily he was not traveling on green card stamps in his passport like my wife and daughter. 

Jason

28 minutes ago, Legend of Summer said:

how did you get SSN within 7-10 days when you first arrive in the state? 

A SSN is fairly easy to get. You only need to prove identity/age and proof of lawful presence.  The SSN is pretty easy to get, just follow the instruction for form SS-5.  A recent immigrant can apply with their valid foreign passport and I-94 or other document showing lawful immigration to the U.S.  More recently, my wife updated her S.S. card for her legal name change after citizenship.  We visited the SSA office on Thursday and had the new card in hand the following Monday.  It helps that we are close to Baltimore and SSA headquarters.  -  Jason

Your wife is correct.  I checked my wife's and she chose 1.d. and left #1 and #2 blank in Part 3.  Continue with 3 and applicable questions afterwards. - Jason

On 3/23/2023 at 7:02 PM, Purigorotta8 said:

So, the joint sponsor will fill in the same documents as myself, correct?  The I-134, bank summaries, 2 years tax refunds and assets.

Sorry, I think you should probably search all the forums for what others have done when they had a joint sponsor.  I would assume that you need the same documentation for each of you and it is not country-specific, but I don't want to give you incorrect information.  - Jason

As you probably know, you'll need to bring all the same documents for your sponsor, plus documentation for your investments, bank accounts, etc.  Make sure the CO understands you want to qualify with your assets and the sponsor at the interview.  Search the forums, as I have seen discussions about people using assets to qualify.  People have done it successfully, I just haven't seen any posts specific to Vietnam. 

Best of luck to you and your fiance - Jason

Bring current pay stubs to show you are currently working.  The instructions also recommend letters from your employer and bank.
 

You shouldn’t need the 2022 transcript, but have it ready when you file to adjust status.

Jason